The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority announced that during a Special Governing Board meeting, amendments to existing power purchase agreements were approved to move forward two critical renewable energy projects -- the Bovoni Solar Farm and the Fortuna Solar Farm, each supported by battery energy storage systems.
WAPA CEO Karl Knight highlighted the broader vision these projects support, saying that this "brings a benefit to the Randolph Harley Power Plant by advancing our ambitious plans for a renewable energy hub on St. Thomas in the Bovoni area. Alongside our existing power purchase agreement for a wind farm in that area and a microgrid, we are also revisiting opportunities such as waste-to-energy and landfill-to-gas. We are looking at this part of St. Thomas to provide alternative generation through renewables to support the power plant.”
With the approvals, the Bovoni and Fortuna projects will expand available energy storage systems that allow WAPA to capture excess solar energy and deploy it when most needed -- especially during peak demand periods or unexpected outages.
"This strengthens the grid and ensures greater reliability for customers. Battery energy storage allows solar power to become a dependable, around-the-clock resource rather than one limited to daylight hours," the utility said.
WAPA’s analysis confirms that the structured agreements for these projects are in the best interest of ratepayers. By clearly separating the costs for solar generation and battery discharge, the Authority is ensuring there is no double billing, it said. Instead, the Authority is securing predictable pricing and building a foundation for long-term savings.
“We have looked at the total output from the solar farm and the costs of the battery storage systems,” noted Knight. “We’ve come to the conclusion—along with our partners that participated in the analysis—that this ultimately has a positive economic impact on the Authority and the community.”
