Virgin Islands Energy Office Director Kyle Fleming is pleased to announce the opening of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) rebate program this Friday. Beginning on April 11, VIEO will start accepting rebate applications for eligible ENERGY STAR rated appliances purchased on or after November 23rd, 2023. The rebate will operate on a first come first serve basis.
Every year teams from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) work to ensure that the products that bear the ENERGY STAR label deliver on the energy savings they advertise. Since its inception nationally in 1992 ENERGY STAR certified appliances have saved American’s billions of dollars on their utility bills and helped prevent 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere.
EERE is only open to bona fide residents of the USVI, as well as USVI non-profit organizations and small businesses. To be eligible for an EERE rebate, which covers up to 40% of the purchase price of an induvial appliance up to a maximum limit of $5,000 per household, you must have purchased an eligible ENERGY STAR certified product from a VIEO approved vendor and fill out a complete VIEO EERE rebate application. The application can be found both online at energy.vi.gov and in person at VIEO’s headquarters on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Physical copies of the application packet must be returned in person to VIEO, the agency will not be accepting electronic submission of EERE rebate applications.
The agency has an initial funding allocation of over $200,000 dedicated to the EERE program, and expects robust public participation. EERE Applications will be processed in the order that they are submitted to VIEO, and rebates will be processed until funds are exhausted.
The Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to the residents of the territory and making sure that the Virgin Islands remains a vibrant and sustainable place to live and raise a family. Under the auspices of Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. VIEO is proud to remind the public of the services it provides.
The Electronic Mobility (EM) program offers Virgin Islanders a $5,000 rebate applicable for qualifying new or used electrical vehicles, and a $500 rebate for qualifying E-Bikes. The rebate aims to accelerate how quickly these zero emission vehicles are adopted in the territory. Currently the agency has over $160,000 remaining in available funding for EM.
The Virgin Islands Battery Energy Storage (VIBES) program helps homeowners ease the financial hurdles barring them from installing an automatic battery backup system at their home or business. VIBES is a rebate program that aims to limit the disruption that each power outage causes to daily life in the territory. The program gives residents the opportunity to receive up to $6,000 in cash back on qualifying automatic battery backup systems as large as 21kWh. On top of helping residents keep the lights on when municipal energy generation goes offline, broad adoption of the types of batteries eligible for the VIBES rebate will help to strengthen the resiliency of the territory’s overall electrical grid and one day may reduce the number of blackouts. Currently the agency has over $700,000 remaining in available funding for VIBES.
