In a coordinated move to reduce the US Virgin Islands’ dependence on fossil fuels and simultaneously provide a solution to critical solid waste management problems on the islands, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) earlier this month signed two 20-year power purchase agreements and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (WMA) has signed two 20-year solid waste management services agreements with affiliates of Alpine Energy Group LLC, who will build, own and operate two waste-to-energy facilities on St Thomas and St Croix. 

The facilities, projected to cost $440 million, will be built on St. Croix and St. Thomas, and will convert an estimated 146,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) that will be combined with petroleum coke (petcoke) as fuel to generate steam and electric power.

The facilities are expected to divert all of the islands’ municipal solid waste from landfills and will provide a total of 49 MegaWatts (MW) of power to WAPA.  Of this total, 33 MW will be provided to St. Thomas/St. John and 16 MW to St. Croix.
Installed capacity on the WAPA system is approximately 320 MW and the utility has over 54,000 electricity customers.

Virgin Islands’ Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. in a statement after the agreements were signed noted that the developments “will begin moving WAPA away from complete dependency on fossil fuel for electric power generation and water production and it will be the first time in Virgin Islands history that fossil fuel has not been used to generate electricity and potable water. It is also the first time that the government has developed a viable solution to the landfill and solid waste issues in the Virgin Islands. ”
The power purchased agreement is now being reviewed by the Virgin Islands’ Public Services Commission.

Construction of the facilities is expected to commence in May 2010 with completion scheduled for last quarter 2012.

Sources: Caribbean Net News, Renewablenergyworld.com, WAPA

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