The Virgin Islands Energy Office (VIEO) will hold a Small Wind Energy Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, at the Carambola Beach Resort and Spa on St. Croix. Topics will include: Introduction to Small Wind, Determining Wind Resource, Optimal Site Selection, Utility Interconnection and Financial Incentives.
Preregistration is recommended. On-site registration begins at 8 a.m. The main presentation will be by Toygar Unai and Dean MacFarland of Syntonic Corporation located in New Jersey. The company will also present a demonstration display. Other speakers will be Bevan R. Smith Jr., VIEO director; Carl Joseph, energy analyst II, VIEO; a representative from Department of Planning and Natural Resources staff; and Patricia Lord, grants program coordinator, VIEO.
For additional information, contact the Energy Office at 713-8436 on St. Croix or 714-8436 on St. Thomas. A registration form is available at www.vienergy.org; just click anywhere on the advertisement for the workshop.
Energy Star rebate program nears its end. The Virgin Islands Energy Office Energy Star appliance rebate program will end on Aug. 15. VIEO has committed $730,000 for the program that rebated 30 percent of the purchase cost to residents who purchased energy efficient appliances. Those funds are getting close to depletion. The program began in September of 2009 and is being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Purchases made before Aug. 15, 2010, will be eligible to receive rebates, but the applications must be turned into the Energy Office before Sept. 15, 2010.
This will not affect the VIEO’s rebate program for alternative energy systems or its solar water heater programs or rebates for certain other energy efficiency items. The solar water heater program still has about $3 million in funds to be expended, and the renewable energy rebate program has $2 million left to expend.
Weatherization program to be highlighted
Weatherization Day is being proclaimed in the Virgin Islands on Sept. 9. An event to educate the public and the media about the Weatherization Assistance Program’s (VI WAP) will be held at Flamboyant Gardens on St. Croix. This is the first year that the Virgin Islands has been awarded federal funds for Weatherization.
The goal of the program is to improve energy efficiency for low-income families, particularly for the elderly, people with disabilities and families with children under five-years old, by improving the energy efficiency of their homes while ensuring their health and safety.
The Energy Office expects to audit and weatherize 430 homes over the next three years.