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

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.

At a Government House press conference on St. Croix, Bryan appeared with Virgin Islands Office of Disaster Recovery Director Adrienne L. Williams-Octalien, WAPA Board Chair Kyle Fleming and WAPA Chief Administrative Officer Don Gregoire.

According to the administration, ODR and its consultants, working with the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, 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 administration said the U.S. Department of Energy conducted an analysis at FEMA's request and found that replacing the entire Richmond plant, rather than repairing a few units, was the more prudent and cost-effective option. FEMA also approved replacement of units 14 and 15 at Randolph Harley on St. Thomas, according to the announcement.

The next step is to reach agreement with FEMA on project cost, which the administration estimated at $400 million to $600 million for the Richmond plant alone. After the projects are obligated, WAPA is expected to solicit vendors for the approved work scopes.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-alongside-wapa-and-odr-announces-fema-approval-to-replace-richmond-power-plant-on-st-croix/