Energy Office Completes First Solar Day-Care Project, Seeks Bids for Five More Sites

Tradewinds staff
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The Virgin Islands Energy Office has completed its first Community Electrical Innovation-funded solar and battery microgrid project at a St. Croix day-care center and has issued a request for proposals for five additional projects across the territory, a press release announced.

The completed installation is at Happy Faces II on St. Croix. The system, installed and commissioned by ProSolar Caribbean in May, includes 9.9 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic generation and 40.5 kilowatt-hours of battery energy storage. According to the Energy Office, the project is designed to reduce electricity costs while allowing the facility to continue operating during power outages.

Happy Faces II on St. Croix is the first site completed under the Virgin Islands Energy Office’s Community Electrical Innovation Program, which supports resilient energy infrastructure at community facilities. (Submitted photo)

The battery system includes three Tesla Powerwall 3 units that have been enrolled in the Energy Office’s Virtual Power Plant program, which is intended to support future grid services through distributed energy storage, according to the press release.

At the same time, the Energy Office released a request for proposals for solar and battery microgrids at five additional day-care and Head Start facilities on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. Collectively, the projects call for 149 kilowatts of solar generation and 600 kilowatt-hours of battery storage, the press release stated.

A battery-backed renewable energy system recently commissioned at Happy Faces II on St. Croix is designed to help maintain operations during power outages while reducing energy costs. (Submitted photo)

The proposed sites are DHS Sugar Estate Head Start on St. Thomas, DHS Cruz Bay Head Start on St. John, DHS Anna’s Hope Head Start on St. Croix, DoReMi Daycare on St. Croix and Tenacious Toddlers Learning Center on St. Croix, the release stated.

The Community Electrical Innovation program is funded through the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery E-Grid funds. According to the release, the program supports the development of solar and battery storage systems at community facilities and nonprofit organizations in underserved areas, the release stated.

Last year, the Energy Office identified 29 critical facilities across the territory for potential participation in the program and is now moving into the implementation phase, according to the release.