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The Alpine U.S. Virgin Islands Projects: Providing waste management and renewable power solutions for the U.S. Virgin Islands
Welcome to the site for Alpine’s U.S. Virgin Islands Alternative Energy Projects. This site will provide project-specific information over the course of development and construction and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Project Development Timeline and Update
After careful consideration, Alpine will maintain the St. Croix power project at 16.5MW, while ceasing development of the larger power plant on St. Thomas. The RDF facilities on both islands will remain as agreed with WMA, and the combination of household waste from both islands will allow pet coke to be eliminated. These projects will allow the USVI to address mounting waste management problems, while also providing a renewable energy solution. The power generation project will also be capable of using other alternative fuels such as energy crops, tire derived fuel, and rum bottoms. Alpine is currently working with both WMA and WAPA to construct these very important projects, and expects to break ground by the spring of 2012.
March 8, 2010: A full USVI legislative session voted on the ground lease for the St. Thomas RDF facility. The ground lease for the power project on St. Thomas was not taken under consideration at this time. The Senate rejected the lease, citing that the use of pet coke was unacceptable. There was a request made by certain senators for Alpine to go back to work with WAPA and WMA and modify the project to solve the waste problem without the use of petcoke.
August 2009 to February 2010: Alpine testified at several Senate hearings, and spoke at public service commission hearings, town meetings, and community gatherings that were held to educate the public about the project. Over the course of this time frame the project met opposition that was primarily focused on the use of pet coke. While the use of pet coke could have lowered utility bills and provided a significant departure from total dependence on fuel oil, the community was seeking a greener solution.
July/August 2009: Negotiations ended in late July of 2009, and agreements between Alpine and WAPA, and Alpine and WMA were signed on August 10, 2009. The agreements were based on projects for one 33 MW power plant and one 200 ton-per-day RDF facility to be located on St. Thomas, and one 16 MW power plant and one 200 ton-per-day RDF facility to be located on St. Croix. Each of the power plants was to be fueled by a combination of refused derived fuel coming from the RDF processing facilities, as well as petroleum coke and other waste fuels available in the Territory.
June/July 2008: Alpine was shortlisted and had its first meetings with WAPA and WMA in August of 2008. The parties met several times over the following months to negotiate the terms and conditions of the long-term contracts. During negotiating sessions with WAPA, Alpine was asked if petroleum coke could be used in addition to the limited amount of RDF available in the Territory, with the goal of increasing the size of the project and decreasing electric rates to WAPA customers. Alpine analyzed the possibility and presented to WAPA two projects that included both RDF and pet coke. After further negotiations, the optimal electrical output was determined as 33 MW on St. Thomas, and 16 MW on St. Croix. With this change, the projects achieved two major goals: reducing electric bills for island residents and businesses by using a very low-cost fuel that is an alternative to 100% dependence on fuel oil; and providing a long-term waste management solution, which was the original intent of the Alpine project in its initial response to the WAPA RFP.
May 2008: Alpine submitted its proposals in response to the US Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s (WAPA) RFP. The project proposed in that response was for one 12 MW waste-to-energy project to be sited on either St. Thomas or St. Croix, and fueled by 400 tons-per-day of household waste delivered from the Waste Management Authority (WMA). This household waste was to be converted into refuse derived fuel (“RDF”), which would then be used to generate power. The project would provide a much needed long-term waste management solution to the territory, which has been under scrutiny from the EPA for years because of its Anguilla and Bovoni landfills. The project would also allow power to be sold to WAPA at rates lower than its projected future pricing.
Please keep reviewing our website for updates on our projects!
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