Work started on BVI’s Anegada renewable energy facility
Work has begun on Anegada’s Hybrid Renewable Energy & Battery Storage System in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which, upon completion in November of this year, would harness solar energy to power the island of Anegada.
Power52, an American solar energy firm, will manage the project for $4,687,944.72. According to Premier Natalio Wheatley, a large number of locals have obtained foreign credentials and will be engaged on the site for the following eleven months.
“Thanks to the solar training programme at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College, we have persons in the Virgin Islands who are trained in the installation and maintenance of solar equipment. And therefore, I expect that this power system will be kept properly maintained after it is commissioned in November 2023,” Premier Wheatley said at the groundbreaking ceremony last week.
“Those persons who were proactive in getting the training when it was offered can look forward to regular employment through this power plant and the other renewable energy projects that will come in the future as the Virgin Islands Going Green initiative gathers further speed. I acknowledge the contributions of Unite BVI, Caribbean Energy Institute,” the Premier added.
The renewable energy facility in Anegada will have the capacity to provide approximately 2.9 megawatts of energy and is anticipated to relieve the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) of electricity subsidies it has been paying for years, allowing residents of Anegada to have access to electricity at affordable rates.
Leroy Abraham, general manager of BVIEC, stated that Anegada was selected for the first renewable energy project in the territory due to the island’s unique characteristics, as well as to reduce energy costs.
“Some may ask the question, ‘why is the territory’s first major large-scale renewable energy project being done in Anegada?’ Anegada, as we all know, is not only one of the most ecologically and environmentally pristine of the islands, but as God would have it, it also possesses the best topography to support the construction of a large-scale solar array,” Abraham said.
A grant from the Canadian Support for the Energy Sector in the Caribbean (CSES-C) Fund would make the construction of a renewable energy farm on Tortola possible, he reminded citizens.
“BVIEC is well advanced in its development of a resilient Solar PV and Battery Energy Storage System project at Paraquita Bay on Tortola. So Premier and Deputy Premier, all BVIEC and our industry partners are awaiting the execution of the land lease and by this time next year, I assure you we will be breaking ground at Paraquita Bay to signal the commencement of that project,” Abraham added.