Executive SummaryLike many island communities, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is almost 100% dependent on fossil fuels for electricity and transportation. This total reliance on oil leaves the territory vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations that can have devastating economic effects on individuals and businesses. USVI electricity costs are over four times the U.S. average, making energy price spikes extremely difficult for ratepayers to absorb. And like other island communities around the world, the U.S. Virgin Islands are among the first to feel the impact of the environmental threats associated with fossil fuel-based energy sources-rising sea levels, intense hurricanes, and widespread loss of coral reefs due to ocean acidification.Such risks and hardships incurred by islands offer mounting evidence that the status quo is unsustainable. In the USVI and other island communities, this has created a sense of urgency around the need to dramatically transform the way energy is sourced, generated, and used. In response, islands around the globe have adopted some of the most aggressive clean energy goals. The USVI's goal is to reduce fossil fuel use 60% from business as usual by 2025. Source: NRELAs islands reduce their fossil fuel usage, they have an opportunity to lead the rest of the world in transforming our shared energy future. This report describes one area in which islands may lead: integrating a high percentage of renewable energy resources into an isolated grid. In addition, it explores the challenges, feasibility, and potential benefits of interconnecting the USVI grids with the much larger Puerto Rican grid.vi The overall objective of the interconnection study is to explore the most economical mix of fossil fuel-based and renewable power generation technologies that can be deployed to enable the USVI to reach its goal. This report focuses on the economic and technical feasibility of integrating renewable energy technologies into the USVI transmission and distribution systems. The report includes three main areas of analysis:• The first area of analysis (Sections 3 and 4 of the report) examines the economics of deploying utility-scale renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines, on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix.• The second (Sections 5, 6, and 7) focuses on the potential sites for installing roof-and ground-mount PV systems and wind turbines and investigates the impact renewable generation will have on the electrical subtransmission and distribution infrastructure.• The third (Section 8) summarizes the results of a study to determine the feasibility of a 100-200 megawatt (MW) power interconnection of the Puerto Rico, USVI, and British Virgin Islands (BVI) utility grids via a submarine cable system. Economic AnalysisThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in partnership with HOMER Energy LLC, developed two models using the Hybrid Optimization Model for Renewable Energy ( The results of the analysis demonstrate the following:• Wind is cost effective at...
and BlocPower were instrumental in providing data for the analysis and hosting site visits. We would like to acknowledge Dylan Cutler and Dan Olis of NREL for their role in developing the stochastic outage modeling capability in REopt. We would also like to thank Bob Butt and Dan Olis of NREL,
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes the strategic importance of energy to its mission, and is working to reduce energy consumption and enhance energy self-sufficiency by drawing on local clean energy sources. A joint initiative formed between DoD and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2008 to address military energy use led to a task force to examine the potential for net zero energy military installations, which would produce as much energy on site as they consume in buildings, facilities, and fleet vehicles. This report presents an assessment and planning process to examine military installations for net zero energy potential. Net Zero Energy Installation Assessment (NZEIA) presents a systematic framework to analyze energy projects at installations while balancing other site priorities such as mission, cost, and security.
Providing clean and affordable energy services to the more than 1 billion people globally who lack access to electricity is a critical driver for poverty reduction, economic development, and improved health and social outcomes. More than 84% of populations without electricity are located in rural areas where traditional grid extension is not cost-effective; therefore, distributed energy solutions such as mini-grids are critical. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that to achieve universal energy access by 2030, more than 40% of total investments must be directed toward mini-grids (IEA 2010). Diesel engines have been used quite successfully to provide electric and other energy services to communities that cannot be reached by extensions of the existing grid. However, utilizing diesel technology has inherent drawbacks: limited improvements in diesel engines; the rising cost of delivered diesel fuel; and the environmental impacts of diesel fuel transportation, use, and storage. Therefore, efforts to expand energy access must include options beyond diesel. Although conventional and new mini-grid technologies have improved greatly over the past 10 years, successful efforts to provide energy services by utilizing advanced mini-grids have remained elusive.
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