Community Economical Value

 

Substantial Energy Cost Savings for the Community: How Does it Work?

 

Besides providing clean renewable power at a competitive price, the major financial advantage is the creation of a long term Power Hedge utilizing wind power. In comparison to traditional power generation technologies which generally rely on fossil based fuels such as coal, natural gas, LNG, propane, nuclear and others to generate power, wind is not subject to historically volatile market forces.

As the price of these non-renewable fossil fuels swing up and down, sometimes erratically, so does the cost to produce the power based on these fuels, which is "passed through" to the consumer by the power companies, typically by the means of a "fuel charge" or "fuel adjustment cost" added to a typical power bill. As a result of the unpredictable nature of fossil fuel prices, geopolitical events and other factors, the combination of these circumstances creates uncertainty as to the cost of energy in the future, even in the short-term.

The “fuel” to power a wind turbine system is of course wind, which is a free and readily available inexhaustible source of clean renewable energy. While the wind used to drive the turbines is free, it does require an investment in the wind turbine components necessary to harness the power. However by “locking in” the capital costs of a wind installation in today’s dollars, the investment is able to produce power for years to come at essentially today’s capital costs, which in turn yields the long-term benefits of predictable energy costs.

The primary commercial or financial benefit of the investment in a wind power generating system is derived from the creation of a long-term hedge against traditionally continuously increasing fossil fueled power costs over an extended period. As shown in the Power Hedge graph below, the cost of "Wind Supplied Power" (light blue shaded area) is based on a determinable set of costs. Those determinable costs to generate the wind power consist of (a) the initial cost to build the wind installation, and: (b) operating cost for the life of the installation. Because the cost of the "Wind Supplied Power" generation is determinable it provides for a more predictable and stable cost of energy over the life of the installation.

The purple shaded area outlined by the green line in the graph up demonstrates the direct "Wind Power Generation Cost Savings" over the life of the wind installation. This purple shaded area represents the spread or cost difference between the market driven price of "Fossil Fuel Based Grid Supplied Power" and the "Cost of Wind Supplied Power".

 

How Much Power Can Be Produced?

The simple answer is: It depends on the commercial wind resources available at a specific location and the installed capacity of the wind power system at that location. Wind power production is expressed in terms of kilowatt hours (kWh) produced annually. The amount of wind power produced annually is a function of the average annual wind speeds at a site, wind turbine capacity and other factors. The Bovoni Wind Project is Expected to Provide Annual production of 28 to 33 Million Kilowatt Hours (kWh) of Power on a Cost Competitive Basis, roughly equivalent to five percent (5%) of the total USVI energy consumed on an annual basis.

One of the many advantages of a wind power system is the ability to custom tailor the power generation to the needs of a particular location, including scaling or adapting the size of the installation to the specific power generation requirements of the site. Also for instance, the modularity of turbines allow installations to be scaled up as power needs at a location increase. Additionally, wind turbine installations with more than one wind turbine offer flexibility and the benefit of redundancy. In short, commercial wind turbine installations are site specific, and are designed for and utilized for all sizes and kinds of installations from small, medium, and large commercial facilities, all the way up to utility scale.

 

Energy Diversification

 

The US Virgin Islands government working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (a government-owned contractor operated facility) funded by the United States Department of Energy, the Virgin Islands Energy office, the Water and Power Authority along with different public and private groups defined and set a goal to achieve the territory’s renewable energy potential that would result in reaching the "60% By 2025 Energy Goal" (30% Renewable Energy + 30% Energy Efficiency).

 

 

 

 

Supports the US Virgin Islands Governments Effort to implement its renewable and conservation energy plan to reduce the territories dependence on fossil fuels by 60% by the year 2025. Additionally, the Bovoni wind project offers a suitable and valuable use for the unused portion of the Bonvoni Point area already being used for general industrial purposes

 

 

 

Other Community Benefits

 

 

 

 

Wind Power Pros & Cons

 

Pro's	Con's
Energy Cost Savings to the USVI through a “Power Hedge” - the ability to “lock in” generation power costs for several years.	Cannot provide power 100% of the time due to intermittent nature of wind.
Promotes energy independence and reduces reliance on outside sources of fossil fuel based energy.	Power must be consumed as it is generated, if no energy storage system (ESS) is installed.
Utilizes free abundant raw resource (wind) for power generation.	Wind turbines not cost effective at geographic sites which do not have ample wind resources.
Clean Energy - No pollutants or CO2 emissions.	Space needed between individually installed wind turbines to maximize production potential.
Modularity - Turbines installations can be sized & customized to individual end users.	Infrequent or inconsistent power usage by an end user.
Supports Government incentives and other long-term energy goals.	Zoning Restrictions and lack of uniform regulations across various government entities.
Supports jobs and potential career opportunities in the USVI community.	Inconsistencies between individual state and federal renewable energy policies and goals.
Educational Value for Students with setting positive example for the use of renewable energy in the community.	No national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)