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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
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Virgin Islands Energy Blast

The Water and Power Authority has installed around 200 of the 973 LED streetlights being funded through a grant from the V.I. Energy Office. LED lights use dramatically less energy than conventional street lights. They are being installed on all three islands.
Governor Signs Energy Contract and Provides Update on Feasibility Study: Virgin Islands public facilities should become more environmentally friendly, energy efficient and cheaper to operate as a result of recent action begun by Gov. John P. de Jongh Jr. Energy conservation work will be done at 11 public schools to demonstrate the development of clean-energy technologies in the Virgin Islands.
“We are starting the important work of making our government and public institutions energy efficient, an environmental and economic imperative for our territory. By taking advantage of stimulus funding, we will implement clean technologies and energy efficiency measures that will guide us into the next decade and beyond,” de Jongh said.
Energy Systems Group LLC will do the work through a recently-signed energy savings performance contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands for the Department of Education. The work to be completed in this phase will reduce building’s energy consumption through the installation of lighting and water energy conservation measures. De Jongh said that the savings captured from reduced consumption are guaranteed to save the government more than $11,000,000 over a 10-year term, and will be used in part to offset operational costs for the Education and for similar equipment upgrades in other public schools and agencies.
This work focusing on the Department of Education is funded by $6.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through VIEO. This action is just one of several strategies taken by the government to ensure the V.I. reaches the goal set by the governor to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel 60 percent by 2025.
In addition, to address V.I. Water and Power Authority’s grid reliability issues, a feasibility study on inter-islands connectivity between the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands is progressing. The governor said the study will address reliability issues that plague immediate addition of intermittent renewable energy technology to the grid and would provide for a steady base load when the sun is not shining or the wind blowing. Siemens Energy Inc., the contractor on this project, is currently working on the high voltage DC and submarine cable study and will help determine the interconnections’ potential benefits in terms of generation cost and reliability. The study will be completed by the end of June.
EDIN-USVI Needs Participation in Working Groups Discussions and Activities: The Energy Development in Island Nations project is asking residents to participate in an energy survey. EDIN-USVI is a collaborative effort between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and local agencies. Its goal is to reduce fossil fuel usage in the territory by 60 percent by the year 2025. It includes five working groups focused on specific challenges: 1) Renewable Energy 2) Energy Efficiency 3) Transportation 4) Education and Workforce Development and 5) Policy.
Any resident of the Virgin Islands who is willing to submit an anonymous home energy survey, should do the following:
1. Click on the following link: edinenergy.sharefile.com/d/sa1c899777da49d4a
2. Save the file to your local drive.
3. Upload the completed survey anonymously by clicking on the following link: edinenergy.sharefile.com/r/re99ef7baecb4f2b8
Additionally, if you have not submitted a Top 10 Energy Efficiency Idea form and would like to, please do the following:
1. Click on the following link: edinenergy.sharefile.com/d/s16009f3c2874322a
2. Save the file to your local drive.
3. Upload the completed survey anonymously by clicking on the following link: edinenergy.sharefile.com/r/refcaf05459e40089
The true key to the success of the EDIN USVI Energy Efficiency goals is actual data and input from stakeholders.
V. I. Energy Office Now on Facebook: VIEO now has a presence on facebook. View the new page by clicking Virgin Islands Energy Office. The Energy Office plans to maintain this page to give easier access to items like videos, photographs, new articles and upcoming events.

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