Comments on: US Virgin Islands Launches 15-Year Energy Initiative to Reduce Fossil Fuel Use 60%

By: Bruce Cullen

Bruce Cullen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:17:00 +0000

Pulse’s experience in creating a Micro Smart Grid in a remote, off-grid, location has been tied directly to monitoring and managing data from both the diesel generation system and power demands across the entire building portfolio.
It is critical to baseline and maintain detailed demand data to manage supply and to focus on targeted, effective DSM work. A particularly vital time is when the system transitions and stabilizes from diesel to renewables.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Lithium-ion batteries are now reaching $400/kW. A123 lithium-ions are expected to last 7,000 cycles.

If that’s the case then you could store a kWh of electricity for about $0.06. Add in some more for real estate, installation, etc. Call it a dime. Heck, call it 15 cents.

Pair that storage with $0.17/kWh solar and you’ve oil-free electricity for no more than $0.32/kWh for 75% of the day and $0.17/kWh for the other 25% when the sun is shining.

An average price of under 30 cents and they are now paying 47 with the price of oil rapidly climbing.

And as they would build out their system over a decade or so the price of both solar panels and batteries are almost certain to fall.

By: Dcard88

Dcard88 — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Nice! Pretty close to what I was thinking. Even if your numbers are in any way ‘optimistic’, R & D advancements in just the next 5 years should make up for my lack of ‘faith’ (as the deniers would say).

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:57:00 +0000

USVI doesn’t have much wind potential but there’s lots of good offshore wind both north and south of Puerto Rico. And it’s not a long way to lay a HVDC line.

http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/where_is_wind_pr_vi.asp

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:55:00 +0000

“the Caribbean island territory’s 110,000 residents pay some $0.47 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity”

Large array solar in a sunny location is now less than $0.17 per kWh.

Would it take a rocket scientist to figure out that these folks should have be installing an immense amount of solar right now?

They’re planning on only 3% solar in the next 14 years? They should be 25% solar within five years. Just keep charging customers the higher rate for a few years until the panels are mostly paid off and then start reducing the rate.

They might be able to install battery storage and get 100% of their electricity from solar for less than what they are now paying.