FEMA approved replacement of Richmond power plant and two St. Thomas units, officials said

Official document: https://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/2023-pr/og-press-release-(6.6.2024)---governor-bryan-alsongside-wapa-and-odr-announces-fema-approval-to-replace-richmond-power-plant-on-st.-croix.pdf?sfvrsn=b188bcdc_3

Archive page: https://www.viwapa.vi/news-information/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/06/07/governor-bryan-alongside-wapa-and-odr-announces-fema-approval-to-replace-richmond-power-plant-on-st.-croix

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said on June 5, 2024, that FEMA had approved replacement of the Richmond Power Plant on St. Croix and two generating units at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas.

According to the announcement, the Virgin Islands Office of Disaster Recovery and WAPA had asked FEMA in December 2022 to conduct a prudent replacement analysis for units 17 and 20 at Richmond and units 14, 15 and 23 at Randolph Harley. The request followed repeated outages after the 2017 hurricanes.

The release said the U.S. Department of Energy analyzed the units and generating systems at both plants at FEMA's request. Based on that analysis, officials said FEMA determined that replacing the entire Richmond plant was more prudent and cost-effective than repairing selected units. On St. Thomas, FEMA approved replacement of units 14 and 15.

Officials said the approvals also would provide interconnections intended to allow more renewable energy, including solar and wind.

The next step was to reach agreement with FEMA on project cost. The release said the Richmond replacement alone was then estimated at $400 million to $600 million. After project obligations were completed, WAPA said it would begin soliciting vendors for the approved work.