Energy Crisis Solved w. STX Wind Farm

Thank you for posting. This is awesome!

OK...but I am always suspicious of slick business pitches. I love the concept and would support it 100% if the numbers work. I hope we can see the numbers will really work and the cavemen who govern these islands sign on. If we could have thirty cent power it would change everything...

An update is about to be posted shortly. The project is moving in the right direction.

This is next big scam to hit us; Caribbean Wind Energy was going to change our world and ended up in court with several unhappy clients suing them.

Be aware, be careful or be ready to loose $$$$

Are the projects in Hawaii and Maine also a scam? Are the initiatives to build wind farms in the Great Lakes also a scam? Or is it only a scam when it comes to the Caribbean?

It is happening, boyd46. And when it does, your energy bills will decrease too. And I wish you well.

With all the moaning and whining about WAPA and the general economy I'm surprised at the little response this project has received on this board. Are we all really so depressed, discouraged and downtrodden that we can't even react either positively or negatively to this ambitious proposal? I for one would be interested to hear the financial and political issues and facts involved in promoting such a project.

I would think living on an island sustainable energy would be a top priority.

I know people wanted to run a cable to PR and get energy from them. We can't even get good produce from PR and we want to use them like a giant generator?

Come on people...this is the US Virgin Islands not Europe. Something good and wonderful like Ben's wind farm could never happen here. It just makes too much sense, and things that make sense dont happen here very often.

We need to make this happen regardless of the naysayers. This makes more sense than a sports complex. The more people who know about this the better. Spread the word. 😎

I do think that "cautious optimism" is in order here. The last WAPA energy study recommended a limit of about 20% of the energy from renewables. We need a reliable option that is 24 / 7. The sun does not always shine; nor does the wind always blow. And the bulk should be from AC generated electric for grid efficiency. Both PV solar and wind provide DC electric that must be converted to AC.

The total installed generating capacity in the USVI is about 300 MWe with a peak demand of about 70 MWe on STT and 55 MWe on STX. So renewables should be limited to about 60 MWe based on total capacity or 25 MWe peak. EmpowerVI's proposal for 300 MWe from wind seems rather aggressive .... and maybe a little unrealistic.

A current example of a 10kWe wind installation on STX at $66,000.00 is as follows:

http://stcroixreformed.org/our-wind-turbine/wind-turbine-faqs/

This works out to $6,600.00 per kWe of installed capacity. The fuel is free, but compare that to a modern medium speed diesel fuel oil or NG driven engine-generator that goes in for about $1,400.00 per kWe. And if you review the actual performance, the unit on STX never gets to 10 kWe of output .... not sure why there is no data beyond March 21st?

http://data.aprsworld.com/data/ps2/historicalMonth.php?station_id=A3682&months%5B%5D=2012-03&months%5B%5D=2012-02

Although larger sized wind turbines should be lower cost per kWe, the floating option would drive more cost into the installation. The EmpowerVI site, states that "Installing a smart grid and 300MW offshore floating wind turbine farm will be a $billion project". I question the accuracy, but you need to start somewhere? This is $3,333 per kWe of capacity that has an availability factor of 33%.

Renewables have their place, but they are not a silver bullet. Going to 100% renewables would be life changing and would not IMO decrease electric rates.

Since most consumption is waste, maybe more regulation should be put into new construction and public transportation.

Since most consumption is waste, maybe more regulation should be put into new construction and public transportation.

Yes. A lot of electrical consumption is waste. And the VI Energy office has a full staff of people that do presentations on energy efficiency, etc. More use of public transportation would cut down on overall fuel consumption for the islands, but would not impact electric consumption.

One other point on Wind Power. As far back as 2004, WAPA even entertained wind with an RFP. Here is part of a Source article on the subject:

http://stthomassource.com/blog/billkossler/2010/07/27/stop-whining-about-leac

"When WAPA sent out the first RFP in 2004, it was sent to five companies, but both the PSC and members of the Legislature objected, wanting it limited to two companies that had already created and registered V.I. subsidiaries. While WAPA entered into negotiations with Missouri-based Innoventor Technologies, a wind-energy producer, a power-purchase agreement was never finalized. WAPA officials have since said that their decision to suspend negotiations centered on the concern that the company's wind turbines would not be able to withstand hurricane-force winds, among other things. With very few bidders and no prequalification process, that process may have been doomed from the beginning."

There are many poltical and artifical barriers to everything new that need broken down. The Alpine Energy Project is another example that was doomed from the start because of them.

Renewables have their place, but they are not a silver bullet. Going to 100% renewables would be life changing and would not IMO decrease electric rates.

But surely adding solar and wind power to the existing grid will only help. If wind has an availability factor of 33%, we only need to make up the other two-thirds. The tropics have a higher percentage of sunny days than most places. Let's just guess that that could make up another 33%. Then WAPA's diesel generators only need to provide the final 33% and that's a big win.

Also three systems working in tandem would provide redundant protection against outages.

Also the one thing that wasn't going on in 2004 is there wasn't a US President who is passionate about renewable energy and supportive of initiatives to add wind and solar to the existing power grids. Wind power initiatives are currently going on in Maine and Hawaii and there have been bills before the Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin legislatures to fund wind farms in the Great Lakes.

Approaches to energy are changing all over the US.

Kass - wind and solar have a place. When I say 33% availability factor I mean to be able to count on say 30 MWe with wind you need 90 MWe of wind installed. There are many times at night when there is Zero wind and the sun does not shine. That point in time you need another dependable option. All I am saying is there needs to be the right mix. But 33% solar, 33% wind and 33% other (fossil or nuclear) is not reasonable. Here is the whole story on what NREL recommends from 2011. Note that 16 MWe is from the now aborted Alpine Project.

http://www.edinenergy.org/pdfs/51294.pdf

As I stated earlier also. WAPA has 300 MWe installed and their peak is 125 MWe. They have 3x what is need to account for maintainence, unit forced outages / failures, etc. and we still have blackouts.

Ah. I misunderstood you about the 33%.

Okay, here's something I'm clearly misunderstanding. I've heard a lot of critics of solar and wind say, "The sun sets and the wind dies". But don't solar and wind store power in batteries? I mean, if you don't use the power generated immediately, it doesn't just go away. It's not like you're actually heating your water with the sun's rays like a solar shower and when the sun goes down, it cools again. Yes, that is solar power too. But that's not what photovoltaic cells do. They capture solar power and store it in batteries for later use. I was assuming it was the same with wind power. And it wasn't entirely assumption on my part because the video on the empowervi.com site featured workmen talking about the battery banks used by the wind farm they were proposing.

So I'm afraid I just don't understand your statement "when there is Zero wind and the sun does not shine".

I know nothing about the energy industry. But I suspect that diesel and coal generators also do not immediately use the power that they generate. There is a coal generation plant near where I live and it does not run 24/7. You can see when it's running and when it's not. They run a couple times a week and store energy and send it to the grid when needed.

Actulally, the lastest solar and wind technology feed exsess "power" back into the grid, in effect spinning your meter backwards. So basically you are selling your solar generated power to the utillty and buying it backwhen the sun no shine. In theorty the installing solar power makes you eligible for certain rebates and tax credits. So in essence FREE ELECTRIC!!! Batteries are only used in "off the grid" applications.
Since overwhelming majority of combinded electrical draw occurs during the day, the WAPA plant's production would decrease subsatinally, in theory at least.

I would think living on an island sustainable energy would be a top priority.

I know people wanted to run a cable to PR and get energy from them. We can't even get good produce from PR and we want to use them like a giant generator?

Public transport would have so many benefits!!!! Particularly in STJ! Most other popular national parks provide bus routes (contracted) inside the park boundries and to parkside towns (hotles and lodgings) Why not have a NPS contracted bus service to the north shore beaches? Just forget the raods aren't compatible BS! If a converted F450 can make the hills/truns so can one of newer "shullte style busses" now on the market. Or even contract the tax drivers to provide vechiles? It makes me wanna cry when I see two people in full size 4x4 SUV driving out to trunk bay. $90 buck a day for the truck. $10 in gas. The impact on the enviroment..... $100 for what should be a $3 bus ride.

We all agree that we need ""new..less expensive...dependable energy sources in the Virgin Islands. As a life long skeptic, I find it impossible to believe all (or any) of the claims about wind power to the VI.

First of all. ..OIL ...will not be available to us in the future. We do not know if the Hovensa/ Hess shut down is real or just a corporate ploy to increase profits.... My opinion does not matter. If oil is still available to us in the future...we will still still be stuck with the almost criminal rates that we now pay ...WAPA... That will not change.

So what about other sources of electricity? They are there , and they might be the answer. However, we must be cautious when dealing with shysters, sales whizzes and save you ... presentations. I am an older guy...(septuagenarian) and I have seen a lot of stuff in my lifetime. I agree that we need to find other ways to generate our electricity. However, I think we should move very slowly before we commit to some company who has """All the answers""". As one poster said, if it is too slick it probably will take my money and run.

I think that solar and wind energy are the answers to the Virgin Islands. But HEY...what do I know?

The real question is not "is this feasible", it is "will the powers that be ever let it happen?".
Look at the disgusting way the government dealt with the wind gens on STT. Putting up barrier after barrier, even after they were installed, to stop someone from supplying a little bit of cheap power to the mall - hence infringing on the government monopoly.
Even here on STX a friend of mine has been waiting for 6 months for the permit to install his wind gen.

The technology is not the issue. Large scale wind generation is used all over the world, from Europe, to the US, all the way down to NZ. It is the government imposed barriers to success that continue to prevent implementation here. This, or any, wapa-alternative needs political backing to be successful, and the only way to achieve that is for all of us to make this an issue with our electoral candidates - however they figure out the new district/at-large process!

I wonder how those wind mills will hold up when the hurricanes hit. they swing pretty good as it is.

And the government has a long way to go when it comes to conserving energy. The exterior door at the excise tax office (airport) is wide open, letting out all that air conditioned air. Why? Because the employee there likes to see in advance who is walking in. What a crock and a total waste of our tax dollars. You can't say anything because they might get offended and 'mess' with your clearances.

Ah. I misunderstood you about the 33%.

Okay, here's something I'm clearly misunderstanding. I've heard a lot of critics of solar and wind say, "The sun sets and the wind dies". But don't solar and wind store power in batteries? I mean, if you don't use the power generated immediately, it doesn't just go away. It's not like you're actually heating your water with the sun's rays like a solar shower and when the sun goes down, it cools again. Yes, that is solar power too. But that's not what photovoltaic cells do. They capture solar power and store it in batteries for later use. I was assuming it was the same with wind power. And it wasn't entirely assumption on my part because the video on the empowervi.com site featured workmen talking about the battery banks used by the wind farm they were proposing.

So I'm afraid I just don't understand your statement "when there is Zero wind and the sun does not shine".

I know nothing about the energy industry. But I suspect that diesel and coal generators also do not immediately use the power that they generate. There is a coal generation plant near where I live and it does not run 24/7. You can see when it's running and when it's not. They run a couple times a week and store energy and send it to the grid when needed.

Large traditional power plants (fossil or nuclear) do not store energy / electric. As an example a utility has a 100 MWe coal fired thermal plant that makes steam to run a steam turbine-generator. If the demand from the consumers on the grid is 100 MWe, then the unit runs at full capacity. At night typically the demand goes down to say 50 MWe, then they would run the unit at 50% load. However, running a plant at 50% is not efficient. So most utilities as is the case of WAPA, have multiple units that come on-line and off as the demand changes. The machines are set to be most efficient at 100% load. Here is a good primer on the various types of power plants:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_plant

Wind and solar have their place, but it is unrealistic to think they can totally replace traditional spinning generation, at least now and in the immediate future. Also for the USVI their are political obstacles related to power .... which is WAPA. It needs to be their idea or it does not get traction. Here is a current example of a wind turbine installation debacle at Tutu Park Mall on STT. The two 50 kWe wind turbines were installed about 3 years ago, but never really ran due to local PUC rules and the fact that the installation competed with WAPA.

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/buyers-sought-for-tutu-windmills-1.1296182#axzz1rvOY0bIv

As for solar. WAPA has received quotes to purchase power from several developers that will install up to 5 MWe on both STT and STX. I'm not sure if any bid on a STT installation, since no site was allocated. So they might on get 5 MWe for STX. Bids were received in Sept. 2011 and then the list was narrowed in Nov. Here we are in April, and still no company selected yet. WAPA initiatives and decisions are mighty SLOW, even though we are facing rising electric costs when Hovensa stops the supply.

http://www.viwapa.vi/news/pressreleases/11-11-17/WAPA_Announces_Shortlist_of_Responders_to_Solar_Energy_RFP.aspx

Battery Storage for wind and solar is an option. However it is expensive. Li-ion battery storage costs about $600 per kWh. For 1 MWh that is $600,000.00. The USVI off-peak demand is on the order of 60 MWe. To store that in batteries for 12 hours, the cost would be $432,000,000.00.

The bottom line. The population needs to rise up and demand a change in decision making relative to energy and not leave it to WAPA. It is critical that the USVI develop a sound energy plan just like what occurred in Bermuda and the other islands that are much farther ahead of us. They are moving to medium-speed diesel engines that are 45%+ efficient and eventually will be converted to LNG. That with a smaller % of solar and wind is a good mix. The only other cost effective option is a SMR (small modular nuclear reactor plant).

If WAPA ever got control of any type of nuclear reactor I would be on the first flight out.

If WAPA ever got control of any type of nuclear reactor I would be on the first flight out.

You wouldn't be alone.