U.S. Virgin Islands Energy Road Map: Analysis

Abstract

NOTICEThis report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Executive SummaryWith high energy costs, isolated grids, and abundant renewable energy resources, island communities around the world are exploring alternatives to fossil fuels. Many small island states have set ambitious targets to reduce oil consumption-the primary fossil fuel consumed on islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) has emerged as a leader in the effort to reduce oil imports and stabilize electricity costs via the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. In 2010, a partnership among the USVI, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) who funded this report, and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) was formed under the guidance of DOE's Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) initiative. This partnership is tasked with developing and implementing a plan to achieve a 60% reduction in business-as-usual (BAU) fossil fuel demand by 2025 (60x25).This report lays out the strategy envisioned by the stakeholders in the USVI, DOE, and DOI to achieve this ambitious goal within the electricity sector (the full 60x25 goal also includes fossil fuel consumption in the transportation sector). The results presented here do not identify or quantify all power system or rate impacts. Instead, this work and supporting analysis provides a framework within which decisions can begin to be made, a concrete vision of what the future might hold, and a guide to determine what questions should follow. MethodologyThe path forward articulated here was developed through four primary efforts:• A review of existing initiatives and activities that are currently focused on decreasing oil consumption in the power sector• A review and analysis of energy efficiency potential within specific sectors of the USVI economy• A screening for technical and market potential of renewable technologies• The development of a model that allows basic assessments of the relative impact and cost effectiveness of each efficiency and renewable energy opportunity.This analysis combined the re...

Energy Production, Use, and Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Southeast USA

“…Among SE states, Florida has the best solar resources as measured in kWh/m 2 /d (NREL 2008a). Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands also have high solar resource potential (Lantz et al 2011, Irizarry-Rivera et al 2008.…”

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1: Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures

“…Rich with renewable potential (e.g., solar, wind, waste-to-energy), these islands are prime opportunities for renewable generation. Scenario analyses to assess renewable resource potential, similar to that described above for Hawaii, have been completed for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, America Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (Lantz et al 2011, Davis et al 2011, Burman et al 2011, Baring-Gould et al 2011a, Busche et al 2011, Baring-Gould et al 2011b At such high levels of renewable electricity penetration, the unique characteristics of some renewable resources, specifically geographical distribution and variability and uncertainty in output, pose challenges to the operability of the U.S. electric system. The study focuses on some key technical implications of this environment, exploring whether the U.S. power system can supply electricity to meet customer demand with high levels of renewable electricity, including variable wind and solar generation.…”

“…Rich with renewable potential (e.g., solar, wind, waste-to-energy), these islands are prime opportunities for renewable generation. Scenario analyses to assess renewable resource potential, similar to that described above for Hawaii, have been completed for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, America Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (Lantz et al 2011, Davis et al 2011, Burman et al 2011, Baring-Gould et al 2011a, Busche et al 2011, Baring-Gould et al 2011b. Detailed technical analyses to identify grid impacts and other potential barriers are required before strategies on high renewable penetration can be contemplated.…”

Wind Power Opportunities in St. Thomas, USVI: A Site-Specific Evaluation and Analysis

“…The USVI has committed to reducing its dependence on imported oil 60% by 2025 (DOE 2010). Through its work with the Energy Development in Island Nations U.S. Virgin Islands (EDIN-USVI) team-a consortium of the territorial government and public utility the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)-the USVI has developed a strategy for achieving the 60%-by-2025 goal, which is outlined in detail in the U.S. Virgin Islands Energy Road Map: Analysis (Lantz, Olis, & Warren 2011). Per the road map analysis, in the electricity sector, investments that boost the operational efficiency of the existing power generation and transmission infrastructure, increases in end-user efficiency, and deployment of new renewable energy capacity are all expected to be critical for the USVI to meet its target.…”

“…Among renewable energy technologies, utility-scale wind power represents one of the lowest-cost sources of new electric generation. When excluding incentives and subsidies, estimates for the levelized cost of wind energy often range from roughly $0.05/kWh to $0.25/kWh (Edenhofer et al 2011;Lantz, Olis, & Warren 2011;BNEF 2012a). Considering the wind resource in the USVI and the costs of other recent utility-scale projects in the Caribbean, costs in the USVI are expected to be on the order of $0.20/kWh, although costs could in fact be lower, depending on the availability of federal incentives, or higher should logistics preclude the use of megawatt (MW)-scale wind turbines (for additional detail on wind power costs in the USVI see Section 3.0 and Appendix B).…”