United States Virgin Islands officials revealed an ambitious plan last week to generate 25 percent of St. John’s electricity from a network of solar panels they hope will be built by the end of next year.
At a public meeting held on the island last Thursday, about 50 residents met with representatives from the Virgin Islands Energy Office; the USVI’s Water and Power Authority; and the Clean Coalition, a US-based non-profit organisation that promotes alternative energy.
Craig Lewis, the Clean Coalition’s executive director, said his group hopes to “decentralise” St. John’s power grid and reduce the island’s reliance on oil-fired generation in St. Thomas.
To do that, the “distributed generation plus intelligent grid project” would create a network of solar panels large enough to supply 11.6 megawatts of electricity, about a quarter of the island’s needs, he said.
Investors
The private investors who would fund the project’s estimated $30-$40 million cost would be compensated by entering into 20-year contracts to sell the solar power to WAPA, Mr. Lewis explained.
“We believe that it will maximise economic benefits and bring environmental benefits and will provide energy security,” he said.
Organisers hope a multimillion-dollar grant from the US federal government will cover the cost of the lithium battery system that could store spare solar power for about 15 minutes, Mr. Lewis said.
His group believes that St. John’s vulnerability to disasters and reliance on oil burned in St. Thomas make the project an ideal candidate for the grant and an example for other islands.
“Once we do that, we’re going to create a situation where St. John becomes a model not just for the Virgin Islands but becomes a model for the rest of the Caribbean and the rest of the world,” he said.
In addition to the environmental benefits, St. John could see $31 million in wages spent on the project’s construction and an additional $15 million spent over the next 20 years, Mr. Lewis claimed.
Challenge
The biggest challenge to those plans will be finding enough available land on the 19-square-mile island to place the solar panels. Mr. Lewis showed the crowd photographs of some potential sites, such as the rooftops of stores and schools.
One potential solution to the space problem would be to place panels on raised platforms above the spaces in parking lots, he added. That would keep vehicles cool in addition to saving space, he said.
Residents were mostly supportive of the proposal but sceptical that enough land could be found.
“All of the numbers are sort of a moot point until you find the sites that you need, and your seven slides came up with not even one megawatt and you need 11 megawatts,” one man said.
Another resident estimated that the project would require about 22 acres of land, and expressed concern that landowners wouldn’t be adequately compensated for placing the panels on their land.
But Hugo Hodge, WAPA’s CEO, assured him that the panel owners would be able to pay competitive lease rates.
The resident seemed unconvinced.
“Thank you, thank you from the community for offering this,” he said. “I’m just saying find 22 acres of land and then let’s talk.”