Edward Mackenzie explains the solar water heating system at the Solar Systems LLC opening.

Edward McKenzie and Brian Walden hope their new business lands them in hot water – lots of it.
    The duo's new venture, Solar Systems LLC, will manufacture solar water heaters and sell them to local dealers. The company opened for business on St. Thomas Wednesday, signaling what several officials heralded as another stepping stone in the building of a new energy sector in the territory, which has already been marked by government efforts to create a renewable energy plan, conserve on energy costs and secure millions of dollars in federal economic stimulus funds for the expansion of local incentives programs.
    Local dealers selling the water heaters will offer residents energy rebates financed by the stimulus funds awarded to the local Energy Office. It's just the kind of push that's been needed from the public sector, energy officials said.

    "If you're into asphalt or alternative energy, your future looks really bright right now and these guys have taken advantage of the opportunities that are available out there and brought us something that we really need," Labor Commissioner Albert Bryan Jr. said during the grand opening ceremonies. "Because of them, manufacturing has become a reality for us."
    But lessening the territory's dependence on fossil fuel is just one side of the coin. The creation of a renewable energy industry also brings along economic development, green jobs, and, according to Walden, the opportunity to tap into a large labor reserve made up of local young people ready to learn the tricks of the trade.
    "As soon as we started to advertise for positions, the phone rang off the hook," he said Wednesday. "The renewable and alternative energy field is a burgeoning sector and we're happy that we can help supply those jobs."
Solar Systems will also offer a one-day seminar for local tradesmen on the basics of solar water heater installation. Seminars will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel on St. Thomas and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Croix Yacht Club. The cost is $60 for those who register in advance and $75 at the door.
    Training for at-risk youth through programs at Labor and Education will also be offered, according to Dave Barber, the company's director of project development.
    The company plans to manufacture 15 units a day, which adds up to 75 units a week and 300 units a month, according to McKenzie. The parts for the units will be shipped from Alternative Energy Technologies (AET) headquarters in Jacksonville, FLA. On their quest to help find a solution to the territory's energy woes, McKenzie and Walden visited the company, which licensed Solar Systems to manufacture its units in the Caribbean.
    The genesis for the creation of Solar Systems began from the spike in gas and power prices that hit the territory about a year ago, McKenzie explained later. From that point, the duo started reading up on alternative energy and made stops throughout the country learning about the technology.
    "At that point, we were focused on distributing photovoltaic panels," he said. But after speaking to Senate President Louis P. Hill -- whose renewable energy bill requiring the installation of solar water heaters in new construction throughout the territory was recently signed into law -- the project took a different course.
    And now, it's a win-win for all involved. The technology offered to residents is "the most efficient method for collecting heat possible," the units come with a 10-year warranty, the manufacturing will be done at a low cost so the units are more affordable and the V.I. Energy Office will help fund the purchase price, McKenzie said.
    "About 25-35 percent of the average residential customer's utility bill goes to heating water," he added later. "With the installation of a solar water heater, that bill should go down by about $60 a month." But to get the maximum benefit of alternative energy, residents also have to conserve, look around their homes and offices and see where they can make the switch to more efficient technology, McKenzie said.
    The government, meanwhile, will do the same thing, said V.I. Energy Office Director Bevan Smith. Through VIEO's energy alliance program, energy service companies will be brought in to retrofit government buildings, along with local resorts and hotels, he explained. It's no secret that most homes and public buildings in the territory already carry electric water heaters, but most people don't know that the average customer uses between 10 and 13 gallons of hot water a day, Smith added.
    "Thus renewed energy concerns about the greenhouse effect and global climate change have made solar technologies a bright beacon in a world of dwindling energy resources," he said. "Solar water heaters are attractive because they are simply, economically competitive with electric water heaters and thanks to Edward P. McKenzie and his business partner Brian Walden, they are no longer just commercially available but will also be locally manufactured here on St. Thomas. We are grateful for this major milestone and the confidence these businessmen have in the economy of the Virgin Islands."
    The territory's efforts are also aligning with the priorities of the nation's new president, Hill said during the ceremony.
    "There are tremendous opportunities in this endeavor, and I think we can say that the stars all lined up at the right time," he said. "We have an energy office that has been toiling for many years to get to this point and we have a president that was elected to office and suddenly brought everything together with the federal government's great financial support for this issue of alternative energy. I think it's clear that the U.S. could have moved in this direction many years ago, but the fact of the matter is we've never had a president or government interested in this issue and finally we do."
    And while the members of the 28th Legislature also rallied together to support the renewable energy bill, McKenzie and Walden began taking stock of the industries and made a "significant financial investment" in helping to further the effort, Hill added.
    "The stars lined up," he said. "And so I believe we're sitting on the foundation of something really great for the Virgin Islands. Today we're taking a major step forward with the collaboration between the public and private sector, the federal and local governments. It couldn't have come at a better time."
    To contact Solar Systems or to register for the seminar call 715-4000 or email epm@solarsystemsvi.com.