💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA added 24 megawatts at Randolph Harley plant with Unit 27
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on July 2, 2020, that it had added 24 megawatts of generating capacity at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas by bringing Unit 27 into dispatch.
WAPA said Unit 27 had been operating for about a week alongside other authority-owned generators serving the St. Thomas-St. John district.
According to the authority, Unit 27 had previously been rented from APR Energy as part of a three-unit arrangement. WAPA said it was then leasing only one unit directly from General Electric, the unit's owner and manufacturer.
Plant officials said the added unit would allow maintenance on other generators without reducing the capacity needed to meet customer demand.
WAPA said Unit 27 was burning oil as of July 2, 2020, and that it was working with General Electric on modifications to allow the unit to use propane. The authority said the Randolph Harley plant would operate on 100% liquefied petroleum gas once that conversion was completed.
The authority said Unit 27 was being dispatched with WAPA-owned Wartsila generators and Unit 15, a GE turbine. It also said the added capacity would provide more flexibility to use lower-cost generators while keeping oil-burning Units 14 and 23 as backup.
WAPA said four new Wartsila propane-fired generators were on order for delivery, installation and commissioning in early 2022.