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Energy Development in Island Nations Projects Officially Ends

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The Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) global partnership initiative, which kicked off in the Virgin Islands in February 2010, is officially over. Karl Knight, director of the V.I. Energy Office, made the announcement during the 7th EDIN-USVI Clean Energy Conference on St. Thomas on Dec. 12. He said the project, the product of an agreement signed by the U.S. Department of Interior, Gov. John P. deJongh Jr. and the U.S. Department of Energy, would be transitioning to a new community-focused campaign falling under the theme of ViEnergize.
Knight recapped the progress the territory has made towards the objectives established by the EDIN partnership in the U.S.V.I. Energy Roadmap. The roadmap was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to suggest pathways to achieving Gov. deJongh’s declared goal of reducing fossil fuel consumption for electricity production 60 percent by the year 2025. He told the audience that in the first three years of the EDIN partnership, the Water and Power Authority (WAPA) reduced oil consumption by over 11 percent. Knight presented an overview of the progress made in solar, wind, biomass and energy efficiency deployment.
The conference was co-hosted by WAPA and Hugo Hodge, executive director of WAPA, who provided the opening remarks and answered questions throughout the day. WAPA staff gave presentations on automated metering initiatives, the savings realized from the conversion to reverse osmosis, and utility-scale solar projects in development.
Jennifer DeCesaro, special advisor to the secretary of energy, provided remarks on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. Basil Ottley, V.I. field officer, represented the U.S. Department of the Interior
Patricia Lord, grants program coordinator at the Energy Office, spoke about the wind anemometer loan program in the V.I. Tim Brown of Islands Wind Energy described the 100 KWs wind turbine recently installed at Lorraine Village Apartments. Adam Warren from NREL provided the results of the measurements taken to determine if utility-scale wind development has potential in the territory. Tania Tomyn of Tibbar Energy spoke about the biomass energy project her company has under development to produce 7 MWs of power for WAPA. May Cornwall and Jim Grum of the Waste Management Authority talked about energy from waste projects.
Several people spoke about energy efficiency projects. Doug Tischbein of Energy Systems Group talked about the savings that have been realized through energy efficiency retrofits at the public schools and where further potential opportunities lie. Richard Elliot of Vitol provided information on the project to switch WAPA’s fuel supply to propane. Wayne Archibald talked about initiatives of the University of Virgin Islands’ Caribbean Green Technology Center. David McGeown of McGeown & Associates gave an update on WAPA’s ViEnergize Energy Services business unit.
Presentations are available at www.vienergy.org

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