The sun shone bright on the Water and Power Authority governing board Thursday as it authorized Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. to complete agreements with three companies offering to provide a combined 18 megawatts of solar energy to the territory on a regular basis, starting in about 18 months.
Hodge said the output represents 14 to 15 percent of WAPA’s current peak demand of 130 megawatts territorywide. The 18 megawatts will be split almost evenly between St. Croix and St. Thomas, with each getting just under or just over 9 megawatts.
The utility has been working with a federal Energy Department consultant, Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) to find sources of renewable energy with a goal of reducing its dependency on oil by 60 percent by 2025, and thus dramatically lowering the cost of electricity.
The companies involved in the solar Purchase and Interconnection Agreements are: Toshiba International Corporation, Lanco Virgin Islands I, LLC, a subsidiary of Lanco Solar International, and Sun Edison LLC or its affiliate, Sun Edison.
Terms call for WAPA to purchase solar energy from each of the providers and all three are to have solar collectors in both island districts. The contract with Sun Edison will run for 25 years; the other two for 20 years each. Hodge would not disclose the purchase price since the contracts are not final, but said all are below what it costs WAPA to produce power now, using oil as its only energy source.
There will be three solar facilities on St. Croix and three on St. Thomas, Hodge said, some ground mountings and some on rooftops.
“This is a significant landmark for the Virgin Islands,” said board chair Juanita Young, a sentiment echoed by other board members. They congratulated WAPA staff, particularly Gregory Rhymer, who chaired the committee that vetted the proposals, and also expressed gratitude to EDIN, which Hodge said “saved us a lot of money” that the authority would otherwise have had to pay in expert consulting fees.
Final negotiations should be completed in about a week, and the contracts signed then, Hodge said. The first facility should be in operation by the first quarter of 2013 and the rest by the end of 2013.
The action came at the end of a four-hour meeting, including an executive session of more than an hour to discuss “legal matters.”
In the public portion of the meeting, the board heard from Patricia Blake Simmonds, WAPA purchasing manager, about procedures designed to prevent waste and promote efficiency. She estimated her five-person division processes between 75 and 200 purchases per months.
Purchases over $2,500 require “justification” or approval from the Purchasing division. Those over $75,000 require approval from the executive director and those over $200,000 require approval from the board, Simmonds said.
Part of her job is making sure that WAPA vendors hold valid V.I. business licenses, she said, although there are several reasons for waiving that requirement. Off-island vendors who are sending mail order products are exempt, as are vendors providing limited service, such as a consultant who is involved in a single project. Exceptions also may be made in emergency situations when only a nonlicensed vendor is available, or for a vendor who has applied for a license but not yet received it.
Simmonds and other staff at the meeting acknowledged that some workers and supervisors have favored vendors – people who consistently provide good service – and some WAPA personnel prefer to use them even if they don’t have a license.
Young asked how Simmonds keeps people from breaking up projects into purchases below $2,500 so they can avoid scrutiny.
“That’s another fight,” Simmonds said. “If I catch it, I’ll bring it to the attention of my director.”
In other action, the board approved several expenditures recommended by the staff:
– $234,430 to Fortress Electric to install, test and commission 69kVterminations of the underground transmission circuit from St. Croix’s Richmond Station to the proposed Midland Substation. – “This is the first transmission project in V.I. history,” Hodge said. “It is quite a significant endeavor.” The circuit will be underground and will improve service to the Industrial Park as well as to other customers on the west end. It is also expected to decrease line loss. The Midland station itself should be built in about 15 months, Hodge said. WAPA is close to finalizing a construction contract for it.
– $341,900 for Bryan’s Electrical Contracting Corp. to install and construct the St. Thomas Market Square underground primary and secondary electrical distribution system. – The project is expected to improve service to the Market Square area and to Main Street, while improving aesthetics downtown.
– $216,900 to $259,547 to Zenon Construction Corporation to rehabilitate the drainage swale around the 10 million gallon Richmond water storage tank.
– $202,000 to the Public Services Commission for expenses incurred or anticipated in compliance actions. – The PSC regulates WAPA and other entities, all of which must bear the costs of regulation.
– Extension of the authority’s existing contract with Asplundh Tree Expert Co. for forestry services, brush removal, and chemical spraying associated with keeping electrical lines free of vegetation. – Hodge said WAPA has renewed its contract for Asplundh for years and the current action would simply make the renewal date coincide with its fiscal year. He also said, “I’ve been approached by several” local companies that would like to bid on the job, but so far none are certified. He estimated that Asplundh handles 70 percent to 80 percent of WAPA’s tree and brush removal.
With two exceptions, the board approved the contracts and expenditures unanimously. St. Croix attorney Gerald Groner abstained on the Zenon contract because Zenon is his client. He voted against the payment to the PSC because he said WAPA should have an invoice and back-up information from the commission before it pays. Staff members said the PSC provides that information “on request,” but Groner said the authority should have it before it pays, not after.
Five of the board’s nine members were at the meeting: Young, Groner, Karl Knight, Donald Francois and Noel Loftus. Absent were: Wayne Biggs, Alicia Barnes, Cheryl Boynes-Jackson and Brenda Benjamin.
