The Virgin Islands Energy Office has been awarded the 2011 Public-Private Partnership Award for Innovation by the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, the office announced Thursday.
The VIEO is being recognized for the development of the Virgin Islands Energy Alliance Program, launched earlier this year to address soaring energy costs within government agencies.
The V.I. Energy Alliance Program uses private energy service companies for large-scale energy efficiency retrofit projects at existing public facilities. The approach has been used to retrofit 11 public schools in the territory, with an anticipated annual savings of $1.1 million to the Department of Education.
The costs of the efficiency improvements are paid through the energy savings over the life of the project, thereby requiring no increased cash outlay. The energy service companies provide a performance guarantee on their work and assume initial responsibility for maintenance.
The Energy Alliance Program has made the energy service companies hired by the government available to large commercial establishments interested in pursuing energy efficiency projects. The program has also recently launched the USVI-WISE (Worthwhile Investment Saves Energy) program, which provides subsidies to small businesses making investments in energy efficiency.
The co-recipient of the award is Bostonia Partners, LLC, which was hired by the Energy Office to design and implement the program on behalf of the government of the Virgin Islands. The award was presented at an awards banquet Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.
"Crisis often breeds innovation, and I am proud to be a part of this effort that has developed a sustainable model for increasing our energy efficiency that has been deemed worthy of national recognition,” said VIEO Director Karl Knight.
The Energy Alliance Program is one of the initiatives created to reach Gov. John deJongh’s goal of reducing fossil fuel consumption 60 percent by the year 2025. Other VIEO projects include the solar water heater program, LED street lighting in both districts, the airport solar panel project on St. Thomas, WAPA’s heat recovery steam generator at the Richmond Power Plant facility on St. Croix and the weatherization program for low-income V.I. residents.
