The government is seeking a consultant to draft a plan to help the Virgin Islands transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.<\/p>\n
But such a plan was approved by the previous Cabinet shortly before the February 2019 general election, and VI officials aren\u2019t saying why a new one is needed now.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the 2017 hurricanes, the Colorado-based non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute \u2014 which in 2014 merged with Sir Richard Branson\u2019s non-profit Carbon War Room \u2014 partnered with the government and the BVI Electricity Corporation to determine how to rebuild the territory\u2019s electricity grid over time to be more resilient and environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n
The result was the 68-page BVI Resilient National Energy Transition Strategy, which was funded by Sir Richard\u2019s non-profit Virgin Unite and unnamed individual donors.<\/p>\n
The plan, which was tabled in the House of Assembly in June 2019, draws upon comprehensive studies of the territory\u2019s electricity system, forecasts the global energy market, and assesses the priorities of various stakeholders to illustrate how VI leaders could greatly increase renewable energy generation in the future.<\/p>\n
Now, however, the Premier\u2019s Office is seeking help drafting what appears to be a very similar strategy.<\/p>\n
Last June, government issued a request for expressions of interest for a consultant to draft an \u201cEnergy Transition Plan\u201d that would identify \u201cstrategies to achieve stated energy conservation and renewable energy goals \u2026 with an understanding of the regulatory context and conditions\u201d in the territory.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Cabinet followed up: During a March 17 meeting, members decided to invite four firms, each of which responded to the EOI request last June, to submit technical and financial proposals for the consulting services, according to a summary of the Cabinet meeting provided by the Cabinet Office.<\/p>\n
But the stated goals of the new plan bear a close resemblance to what is included in the R-NETS strategy.<\/p>\n
The 2020 EOI request, for instance, states that the new plan should \u201cbe structured in at least three phases to capture short-,medium- and long-term actions, recommendations and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar work was already undertaken by RMI.<\/p>\n
In a section of its report titled \u201cAction Plan,\u201d the authors outline \u201cspecific immediate-, medium- and long-term investment projects that the BVI should pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of these projects were first proposed years before the R-NETS was drafted.In fact, the R-NETS was conceived as a means of enacting earlier goals laid out in the territory\u2019s 2016 Energy Policy, which itself aims to hit a set of targets established in 2013.<\/p>\n
These goals include generating 30 percent of the territory\u2019s energy by renewable means by 2023; decreasing fossil fuel imports by 20 percent by 2021; reducing fossil-fuel inputs to electricity on Anegada by 80 percent by 2021; and ensuring that 50 percent of consumers use some sort of renewable energy technology or energy conservation measures.<\/p>\n
Because progress toward these goals has been stymied repeatedly over the years, the territory continues to produce nearly all of its electricity by burning diesel fuel.<\/p>\n
Last July, BVIEC officials promised change when they announced a $4.6 million contract for a solar field on Anegada designed to tick off the 2013 goal for reducing fossil fuel use on the sister island.<\/p>\n
But construction has yet to start, and the chosen contractor, Maryland solar developer Rob Wallace Jr., has a history of allegations of fraud, broken contracts, refusal to pay his bills, and other misconduct sometimes associated with projects similar to the one he was chosen to build on Anegada.<\/p>\n
The desired three-pronged structure of the planned Energy Transition Plan is not the only aspect of the new effort that echoes RMI\u2019s renewable transition strategy.<\/p>\n
Among other elements, the 2020 EOI request stated that the consultant should assess the \u201ccurrent regulatory framework for energy policy \u2026 and renewable energy in the BVI;\u201d identify \u201cenergy conservation, renewable energy and energy storage opportunities;\u201d calculate \u201cthe financial implications \u2026 and other impacts of developed strategies and recommendations;\u201d and analyse \u201cthe potential greenhouse gas emission reductions that can be achieved through implementation of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of these elements are present in the R-NETS strategy, which includes the results from detailed projections modeling the cost-effectiveness and emissions-reduction potential of six renewable development \u201cscenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n
And after months of studying the territory\u2019s electricity grid and capacity for renewable development, the strategy\u2019s authors concluded that to make solar and other alternative technologies attractive on a large scale, the BVIEC must overhaul its renewable energy regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cBVIEC should \u2026 examine innovative approaches to its current business model,\u201d the R-NETS states.<\/p>\n
As an example of one such innovation, the authors suggested that the BVIEC figure out a way to recoup \u201cutility investments\u201d in renewable energy infrastructure to then help residents install solar panels on the roofs of their homes.<\/p>\n
The utility has been working toward that goal in recent months, though widespread use of solar technology on homes is not in effect.<\/p>\n