Virgin islands Energy Blast- December 2012

Ene ergy y Offfice B Blas st VOLUME 1, N NUMBER 19

DEC CEMBER 28, 20112

VI Energ E gy Off ffice P Puts iin Wiind Measu M uring g Deviices o on Stt. Croiix and d St. Thom mas The U.S. Virgin Isslands with h technical assistance from the N National Renewablle Energy Laboratory L this Decem mber moveed closer to o a clean energy fu uture as win nd and solaar measurin ng devices w were erecteed on St. Thomas and a St. Croiix.

Fo or informatiion on en nergy efficien ncy or altternative en nergy, vissit the V.I. Energy E weebsite at ww ww.vienergy.org

Ga asoline savin ngs tip p: It's mor re

eff fficient to turn off ff your car and tu urn it on again a th han to let it idle fo or more th han 45 5 seconds w while waitiing.

The projject began n at the Bovoni la andfill on Dec. 4 and was com mpleted on the eastern South S Shorre of St. Croix on Dec. 19. On each island 60-meter, one anemomeeter toweer was erected an nd a SODA AR device installed to measu ure wind nar. Each to ower also using son has a solar pyyrometer attached to it to measure solar irrad diation.

Carl Joseeph, energyy analyst with the V.I Energyy Office, which iss overseeing the project says, s “Overall, the project so s far has been a success, the devicees, when they wen nt up, imm mediately began colllecting data a.”

The towers will stayy in place and collecct data for at a least a year. Eneergy Office Director K Karl Knight says, “The data colleccted will be used by b the Water and Pow wer Authorrity (WAPA A) to develo op plans for a utilitty scale win nd farm.”

Knight, who w is also a memberr of the WA WAPA Goverrning Board, adds, “We are very v excited d about the potential o of wind deveelopment.”

Most of the $270,000 used to fund the project came from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds, but some local money also contributed. The project falls under the auspices of Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) initiative. Its USVI Energy Road Map, Charting the Course to a Clean Energy Future, calls for the reduction of fossil fuel use in the Virgin Island by 60 percent by 2025.

The Roadmap, produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which is giving technical assistance to the Energy Office on this project; had three scenarios which could produce from 12 MW to 33 MW of wind power for the Virgin Islands.

Indications are that the sites being measured have enough wind to make sense for development: the data being gathered now is referred to as “bankable” data. In other words, it will increase the confidence of potential investors about the wind and solar resources on both islands.

VI Energy Office Tel. 713.8436

“The goal of this project is to collect data that meets or exceeds North American industry standards for developable solar and wind projects to help attract potential developers of renewable energy projects.” says Joseph Roberts, senior wind engineer for NREL. The towers are measuring winds speeds and direction at three different levels -- 35 meters; 47 meters and 57 meters.

SODAR is an acronym for Sonic Detection and Ranging. This type of measuring device has become more acceptable in recent years. The Energy Office believes that using SODAR in conjunction with the tower data will give precise and very reliable data.

The pyrometers will gather information that will be valuable to solar project developers. Most solar developers, when working on the Virgin Islands now, have to refer to solar irradiation data gathered in Puerto Rico. This new data will be specific for the U.S Virgin Islands.

Plans for how a third tower will be handled are already in motion. That tower could not be put up at this time because it was damaged.

Dr. David Smith, of the University of the Virgin Islands, will be the lead on monitoring the equipment and data and to keep the instrumentation working well.

Here is a slideshow showing the installations. http://www.slideshare.net/EnergyOffice/wind-measuresdevices-go-up-in-virgin-islands For a report NREL published earlier this year regarding the opportunities for a wind farm on St. Thomas see. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/55415.pdf.

Ene ergy-e efficiient affor rdab ble hou using g bein ng bu uilt U.S. Virgin V Islan nds dignitarries gatherred Dec. 19 9 on St. Cro oix’s for the grou undbreaking g of Phasse II of tthe Louis E. Brown n Villas developm ment. The second ph hase of the project includes a senior building with w 36 on ne-bedroom m units and four two-b bedroom un nits and is part off the first, affordable-h a housing deevelopmentt to be buillt by the V.I. H Housing Authority in two decades.

A highllight of the develop pment is a 100 kilowatt phottovoltaic system.

The system is already up and running g and supplyin ng the common n areas in the Ph hase I part of the deveelopment. P Peter Sites, a principaal in All Rounder Systems, who w installed d the PV syystem, says there is disscussion about exp panding thee system so o the apartm ments in Ph hase II will have no power billls at all. As A it standss the preseent PV systtem is the largest, residentia al system in n the Virgin n Islands. e cient apartm ments inclu ude solar ho ot water The devellopment’s energy-effic heaters, lo ow-flow wa ater faucets and rainwaater-collectting cistern ns.

O Direcctor Karl K Knight, speaking at th he groundb breaking Energy Office ceremonyy, said the developmeent was a sign of whaat the futurre in the Virgin Islands would d look like. hich opened d November of 2011, had 102 energyThe first phase, wh efficient apartments a s. The devellopment pllan is to ulttimately creeate 244 one- to th hree-bedroo om units forr families aand seniors.

Already itt has a club bhouse, fitn ness center aand compu uter center, laundry center an nd state-off-the-art seecurity systtem. Theree is a com mmunity room, a liibrary, an exercise e roo om, as well as a playgrround, gard dens and landscapiing compossed of nativve, droughtt-resistant plants. And it will have a neew computeer center, ffunded thro ough the teerritory's V V.I. Next Generatio on Network k federally ffunded broaadband exp pansion pro oject. percent of tthe area The houssing is avaiilable to reesidents earrning 60 p median income or less, which h is $18,66 60 or less on St. Cro oix. The developm ment was fin nanced with h $20 milliion Low-In ncome Houssing Tax Credits from f the V.I. V Housin ng Financee Authorityy, along w with $12

million from HUD through VIHA. The tax credits allow developers, such as the Carlisle Development Group that is working on the Louis E. Brown Villas, to deduct a percentage of the development costs from the company's federal tax obligation.

Louis E. Brown, for whom the villas are named, was a St. Croix native who served in several high-level posts in the V.I. government, including as commissioner of Agriculture and Labor. Born in 1917, Brown served in World War II before returning home and pursuing a career in public service. He died in 1972.

f you no long ger w wish to receiive this n newsletter frrom the V Virgin Island ds E Energy Officce, p please reply to this eemail with th he w word ““unsubscribee” in th the subject line.

Goveernment H Housee usess LED Ds to lig ght up p the holid days The Ruth h Cruz, coordinator off communitty outreach h at the governor’s office, callls the LED D lights on the Govern nment Hou use Christm mas trees in Christiansted and d in offices iin Frederikssted “aweso ome.”

She says that not only o are th he lights beautiful, bu ut they savve energy an nd are lesss dangerou us.

She reach hes out an nd touches a lite LED bulb and d pinches it between her thumb b and indeex finger. “S See it is co ool to touch h.

They do not n get hott like the olld Christmas tree bullbs.” Housse fires havee been sta arted by ho ot bulbs on dry d trees.

The fact that LED lights don n’t burn up energy e crea ating heat is one reaso on why theyy use so littl tle electricityy. Most of o the LE ED Christmas lights no ow availablle at storess through the Virgiin Islands use one tentth the poweer of old Chrristmas bullbs.

So, if a resident r ussing the olld type of lig ghts raises his bill by $ $50 a month; anotherr resident, w with the same ligh hting but using LED bu ulbs, would d only raise his bill $5.

Cruz sayys, “Virgin Islanders don’t havve to stop p their Ch hristmas tradition of lighting g up. They just need to do it diffferently. “ Energy Office Director Karll Knight saays this is just one o of many in nitiatives being tak ken through hout the govvernment aat the direcction of thee Energy Office, to o cut enerrgy consum mption an nd lower W Water and d Power Authorityy bills.

He urgess residents also to ccome part of the VIeenergize caampaign towards energy e susta ainability aand self-suffficiency in the Virgin Islands.

In 2010 the t Energy Office and d the Waterr and Poweer Authorityy joined with the U.S Departments of Energy and d the Interrior, as welll as the National Renewablee Energy Laaboratory tto meet thee territory’ss goal of reducing fossil fuel usage u by 60 0% by 2025 5.

The VIen nergize cam mpaign is aimed at keeping tthe importtance of energy co onservation n and efficieency at the forefront o of the mind ds of V.I. residents of all agees. A crosss section o of the com mmunity--reesidents, workers, businesses, schools, cchurches, ciivic organizzations, leg gislators, tourists, and a others— —are encou uraged to w work togetheer for a truee energy revolution n in the terrritory.

Knight says, not only can residents save money, but they can also reduce the increases in carbon emissions that occur when more people are lighting up their homes, cooking big meals and driving to holiday festivities. "VIenergizing is the right thing to do for our environment," said Knight.

Besides using LED lights Knight offered the following tips on VIenergizing their holidays: • Using timers to reliably turn off holiday lights when no one is around to enjoy them can further reduce energy costs. When retiring for the evening, reduce costs and increase safety by unplugging all lights at the wall outlet.

• For outside lighting, install a motion sensor that turns lights on automatically when someone walks up, and turns them off automatically after 1-5 minutes. Use mirrors or tinsel around indoor lights to heighten their effect.

• Always purchase Energy Star labeled products for holiday decorating and for gift giving.

• When cooking for the holidays, use a microwave oven as often as possible. Microwave ovens use up to 75% less energy than conventional ovens. When using conventional ovens, do not open the door to peek at what’s cooking as it lowers the temperature inside, increases cooking time, and wastes energy.

Keep refrigerators and freezers well stocked. A full refrigerator or freezer saves energy by reducing the recovery time when the door is opened. If the refrigerator or freezer is only partially full, store one gallon bottles of water to help keep the temperature regulated.

To find out more about the EDIN-USVI energy revolution and how you can be part of the solution, visit, www.vienergy.org