WAPA Eyeing Purchase Of Generating Units For Harley Power Plant In St. Thomas

The new units would provide renewed operational reliability and efficiency, WAPA says.

ST. THOMAS — Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority Julio A. Rhymer, Sr., above, said Tuesday WAPA is beginning the acquisition and introduction of new generating units for the Randolph E. Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas, according to a press release from the semiautonomous entity.

WAPA says the move is towards stabilizing power production and more importantly, introducing more efficient, reliable and right-sized units to meet the power demands of the island district.

WAPA’s new leadership has made the acquisition of new generation, and the reliability and efficiencies it brings, the authority’s top priority, according to the release.

“Our strategy, based primarily on the findings of a final draft of the Integrated Resource Plan, is not only to bring new generators on-line but to ensure their efficiency, which will save millions of dollars a year in fuel costs as well as bring about a renewed sense of reliability at the Harley power plant,” Mr. Rhymer said.

WAPA’s senior management has been in talks with several manufacturers to determine a path forward in designing, delivering and installing the units.

“We have long recognized that the generators in our fleet have served us well, but have aged and are getting very expensive to both operate and maintain,” he said.

Many of these generators, Units 14, 15 and 18, have been in the WAPA generation mix since the late 1970’s and 80’s. The workhorse generator, Unit 23, is simply too large of a unit to operate based on the present peak demand and has had operational challenges of late.

“In Unit 23, we have a generator that is long overdue for a major overhaul leading to the unreliability and inefficiency of the unit,” Mr. Rhymer noted. In fact, he added, while we cannot avoid the major overhaul of the unit we may decide not to convert it from oil to tri-fuel operation.

Mr. Rhymer said he and his engineering team are eyeing a number of smaller units that can burn both propane and natural gas in the generation of electricity. “A cluster of smaller units versus a single, oversized unit is a more cost-efficient and reliable approach to power generation. Coupled with one or two larger generating units fueled by oil and propane, this should provide us ample capacity to satisfy the current peak power demand and factor in continued growth of the islands,” he added.

The Harley power plant provides electrical service to St. Thomas, St. John, Water Island and Hassel Island, with a peak power demand of approximately 65 megawatts. Rhymer estimated that since the units are generally available on the market, WAPA could take delivery by the third quarter of 2017, assuming all regulatory hurdles are cleared in a timely manner.

“These units are readily available, they will have to undergo a certain level of customization to meet both WAPA’s needs and emission requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Once installation is complete, we should be phasing out or retiring the existing units,” Mr. Rhymer said.

He added that while the present focus is on stabilization of the power plant on St. Thomas, the needs of St. Croix will not be overlooked.

“The Estate Richmond Power Plant is stable for the time being, and is in much better shape than its counterpart on St. Thomas. On St. Croix, we are focused on completion of smart meter deployment, continued build out of the smart grid through the implementation of Automated Metering Infrastructure, and hardening the transmission and distribution system so the effect of inclement weather is minimized,” he said.

Mr. Rhymer said the priorities identified in both island districts will increase the efficiency and reliability of WAPA’s electrical systems.