Affordable Power for the People

(National Wildlife Federation)

Average energy prices in the U.S. Virgin Islands are among the highest in the nation due to the territory’s reliance on oil that must be shipped in from other locations. Promoting the use of renewable power sources to lower costs and help the Virgin Islands achieve long-term energy independence is a key conservation priority of the Virgin Islands Conservation Society.

“It is our responsibility to reduce our contribution of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and to sensibly use our natural resources,” says Paul Chakroff, a board member of the NWF affiliate. In 2008, the society helped form a coalition known as the Virgin Islands Renewable Energy Organization (VIREO) to advocate for viable alternatives that don’t produce carbon dioxide, such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean thermal energy. The coalition, which includes NWF, has been reaching out to both citizens and government officials—and making progress.

Last fall, VIREO proposed a territory-wide initiative that would allow homeowners to purchase solar-powered water heaters by making payments over time on their monthly electric bills. (As much as 30 percent of household energy use may be attributed to water heating.) Both the governor and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority gave the project a green light. “Details are being worked out with the hopes of launching the program within the next few months,” says Chakroff.

“This is a tremendous conservation success,” says Geralyn Hoey, an NWF regional representative. Because of it, the director of the Virgin Islands Energy Office has asked VIREO members to provide input on an energy policy plan—an invitation, says Hoey, that is unprecedented. See www.virenewableenergy.org.