Considering that the monthly BVI Electricity Corporation bill now shows a 45 percent fuel surcharge and the cost of a barrel of crude oil remains in the $95 to $105 range, it would seem reasonable to consider the possibility of alternative sources of energy — specifically electrical energy.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle in the short term is the BVIEC itself. According to BVIEC General Manager Leroy Abraham, the corporation may take steps to make it possible for locally generated power to be fed back into the grid sometime in the next ten years. I suspect this translates into “Never! We are not interested.”
There are a variety of possible alternative energy sources that are in some varying degrees practical. All involve a relatively high degree of technology, and all depend on careful operation and a reasonable degree of operational and maintenance care.
Solar energy is the current star of the alternative energy sources. It is used in the United Kingdom, where a system allows private individuals to generate power that can be fed back into the power grid for credit. According to the Beacon, this system is also in play in the United States Virgin Islands.
The solar panels are not especially new, and the technology is well known. But the system is illegal in this territory. It also requires a battery storage system, an automatic transfer switch (if used instead of a diesel generator as a back-up system), and an inverter to convert the stored energy from DC to AC. A recent installation in West End cost close to $16,000 for a moderate-sized residence. That system, however, is functional.
Currently, even with the high fuel surcharge, the economics may not be all that attractive.
Wind generation
The Beacon also reported that two wind turbines have been operating on Peter Island. This resort is noted for its high-tech responses to environmental problems. In fact, the management has won awards for its work in this area.
The wind turbines are not especially pretty, but they are effective.
There are three similar turbines in St. Thomas, close to Tutu Mall.
The turbines at Peter Island were damaged in Earl, but that does not make them any less of a viable option as an alternative energy source
As a note, with the current price of diesel fuel, a saving of 100,000 gallons of fuel annually would be worth almost $500,000. This is a figure not to be sneezed at!
Energy from waste
May Adams Cornwall, the director of the USVI Waste Management Authority, is quoted as saying that various Caribbean jurisdictions are shifting their attention from incineration to energy from waste as a means of solid waste disposal.
However, Ms. Cornwall also indicates that the solid waste is converted to fuel pellets, which are burned. While this may not exactly be incineration as it is known in the VI, it still involves the burning of waste.
A 1987 analysis broke down the VI waste stream. Flammables made up 71 percent of the total: 33.5 percent paper (including corrugated); 6.3 percent plastic (PVC, HDPE); 22.2 percent wood (mostly construction material); 2.9 percent putrescibles (wet garbage); 4.8 percent textiles; and 1.3 percent yard waste (vegetable matter).
Nonflammables and other waste made up 29 percent of the total: 18.1 percent glass (mostly beer bottles); 8.6 percent metals (mainly aluminum and steel); and 2.3 percent other materials, for a total of 29 percent.
To implement the system described by Ms. Cornwall, it is obvious that the nonflammables would have to be removed — specifically the glass and aluminum. Realistically, this could only be done if an effective recycling system were to be implemented. To the best of my knowledge, the VI and the USVI are virtually the only territories in the Caribbean that have essentially no form of recycling. In a study on solid waste disposal means used in six Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States countries, plus Anguilla, the USVI and the VI, only the USVI and the VI were found to be making no attempt whatever to recycle glass.
Green VI
The current Green VI initiative to recycle glass as tourist items is most certainly the right way to go, but the amount that can be recovered by this operation is minimal compared to the roughly 20 tons per day of waste glass that is generated.
The recent effort to collect and recycle glass behind the horse track failed when the government apparently neglected to assist the operators of the project in transporting the material to Puerto Rico.
In 1984, the BVI Recycling Committee proposed a deposit/return system for beer and liquor bottles. Systems such as this are used in (at least) Ontario, where up to 98 percent of the glass is recovered and recycled. Oddly enough, the two percent that is not recovered pays for the operation!
In the VI, the proposal was rejected by prominent politicians and businessmen who claimed the system was “half-baked” and that it would put local businesses at some sort of disadvantage.
Any system that handles solid waste is certain to be a high maintenance item. The current incinerator is a prime example of this fact. And, for a variety of reasons, Caribbean countries are notoriously bad at maintenance operations.
So, while Ms. Cornwall’s statement may be correct, the success of such ventures would seem to be dependent on both a recycling system that has been repeatedly rejected (or failed) and a degree of operational expertise that is not evident.
Texas incinerator
Center, Texas is a small community that operates a Consumat CS-1600 incinerator with an attached waste heat boiler. This was the model for the VI incinerator. The steam from the boiler is sold to a local chicken processing operation for use in preparing the chicken carcasses. So the system can be made to work. But boilers in general and waste heat boilers in particular are fairly high-tech operations. They depend on a degree of operator skill that is the result of considerable training — usually from stationary engineers who are qualified only after formal training.
When the existing system was installed, energy from waste was considered. It was rejected on the basis that no other steam generation system existed on Tortola and that the level of technical skill was not likely to be found on the island. Unfortunately, the latter prediction proved true.
Boilers require a relatively pure source of water for use as feed-water. Desalinated water is not generally suitable because of the concentration of the residual salt (four to six parts per million) when the water is evaporated to produce steam. And the corrosive nature of saltwater, especially at elevated temperatures, is well known.
In addition, the exhaust gas from an incinerator contains both fly ash and corrosive materials such as sulfurous acid and hydrochloric acid. Both of these can be removed by scrubbing, but scrubbing cannot be applied ahead of a waste heat boiler.
And perhaps the worst problem is a difference in attitudes towards maintenance. Ms. Cornwall was consulted when the original Dillon report was being prepared. At the time, the USVI had nine sewage treatment plants of the activated sludge type. Eight of these plants were out of operation for maintenance reasons. Many were lacking spare parts, but the problems at some were simply the result of inadequate maintenance. Ms. Cornwall’s frustration can be imagined!
Operation of plants
In any “production” operation (and I spent 15 years in plants of that nature), the plant management is linear and vertical. While it is usual to consider suggestions from the operators, the management of the operation is in no manner “collegiate” in nature. Operators are assigned their tasks and are expected to carry them out. Shift schedules are set by management and if they are inconvenient to the individual operator that is unfortunate.
In the Caribbean, for some reason, this system is less than acceptable. And the long-term results of any system other than the one used in the most developed countries becomes rapidly obvious.
So when considering any form of alternative energy source, it is necessary to seriously consider whether the “host” country or territory is capable of handling it. And to a great degree, this depends on the qualifications of the people who are going to operate and maintain the plant. The incinerator has operated over a period of some 17 years, but the current state of affairs is no positive recommendation for the new unit.
And, until Caribbean countries in general understand their technological limitations, the situation is not really going to change materially.