💧 Water and Power · St. Thomas, VI
WAPA signed $75 million contract for four generators and battery system at Randolph Harley plant
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on July 22, 2020, that it had signed a $75 million contract with Wartsila for the engineering, procurement and construction of four new generators and a battery storage system at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas.
WAPA said the project would add 36 megawatts of generation capacity and a nine-megawatt battery storage system. The authority said the units were expected to be fully operational in early 2022.
According to the release, the new generators could burn propane and light fuel oil. WAPA said the Harley plant would operate more efficiently and reliably on propane once the units were online.
The authority said the battery system would provide electricity for up to two hours and would be used to stabilize the plant during interruptions, reducing the need to bring another unit online to meet demand.
WAPA said the project was funded entirely with federal money provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The authority said the new units would allow it to end a generator lease and begin decommissioning older units that operated on more expensive oil fuels.
The release said WAPA expected the added generation and fuel changes to lower electric rates by 4 cents per kilowatt-hour once the Harley plant was fully operating with the new Wartsila units on propane.