ST. THOMAS — Senator Janette Millin Young, in a release issued late Monday, said her office has been in communication with Tesla and its SolarCity subsidiary, to come up with temporary and perhaps long-term solutions to provide energy services to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Tesla is currently working with government officials in Puerto Rico on a plan to rebuild the island’s power system to be more resilient. Already, Tesla has begun shipping their Powerwall battery packs to the island. “My staff is working with people at Tesla’s SolarCity to create a plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Ms. Millin Young said.
On October 5, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, was asked whether it was possible for Tesla to rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid with independent solar and battery systems. Mr. Musk responded, “The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too. Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC, any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR.”
The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too. Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC, any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2017
Scientists and energy experts have said that a distributed grid that is not reliant on a single power plant for energy generation, could help vulnerable island regions like the Caribbean withstand powerful storms like Hurricanes Irma or Maria. The Caribbean is also most vulnerable to hurricanes, which are predicted to gain in strength with each passing year because of global warming.
Solar panels can feed their power into batteries and be linked together into local or regional power grids, and are also well suited for tropical regions. The technology could save the U.S. Virgin Islands millions — savings that could be passed on to residents — which in turn could boost the local economy as dollars once used for utilities could be spent elsewhere. Cheaper energy costs could also entice industries to the USVI that are heavily reliant on its use.
“When we are facing the sort of infrastructure destruction we have seen this hurricane season, it only makes sense to give some pause before reinvesting in the exact same system that proved to vulnerable,” Gwen Holdmann, who directs the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, told The Washington Post recently. “If [Puerto Rico’s] system were redesigned around microgrids incorporating local power production, there would still be losses, but the number and duration of outages due to severe weather events would decrease.”
Governor Kenneth Mapp was asked at one of his recent press briefings whether he’d heard of what Mr. Musk and Tesla are doing in Puerto Rico. The governor said he had not, and that any question related to energy should be directed to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
Puerto Rico’s governor, however, isn’t leaving the conversation up to the island’s utility company alone. When Mr. Musk said Tesla could help rebuild a more reliable and energy efficient power distribution system in Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, the island’s governor, quickly responded.
“Let’s talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project,” Mr. Rossello tweeted. Since then, Tesla has been working with Puerto Rico on solutions, and has been shipping its powerful battery packs to the island.
@elonMusk Let’s talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project. https://t.co/McnHKwisqc
— Ricardo Rossello (@ricardorossello) October 6, 2017
Tags: solar city, tesla, us virgin islands
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