Energy storage comparison U S Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) includes the three main islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix. The U.S. territory has a population of about 87,000 000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2022), and the primary industry is tourism (CIA 2023) . USVI is highly reliant on fossil fuel for their energy and all fuels are imported. The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) includes the three main islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix. The U.S. territory has a population of about 87,000 000 (U.S. Census Bureau 2022), and the primary industry is tourism (CIA 2023) . USVI is highly reliant on fossil fuel for their energy and all fuels are imported. The installment of battery energy storage solutions (BESS) in six solar parks across the U.S. Virgin Islands has begun. The solar array and BESS will boost the islands' decarbonization efforts by fulfilling 30% of its energy consumption through renewable sources. Honeywell will provide the BESS. This document was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with support provided by the Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The information included in this document is for general information purposes only. The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, became a U.S. territory in 1917 and is located in the Caribbean Sea, about 1,100 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. 1,2 The USVI has no fossil energy reserves, but does have some renewable resources, particularly solar energy. 3,4,5 The USVI imports petroleum . The solar-plus-storage system is expected to fulfill 30% of the islands’ energy consumption needs. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Virgin Islands have heavily relied on fossil fuels to generate electricity in the past. This means residents accrued expensive electricity costs that fluctuated with global oil prices.