Deputy Premier and Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Kye M. Rymer, has said that the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project is long overdue as the Virgin Islands continues to move towards energy resiliency and energy security.

Honourable Rymer while addressing the Ground Breaking Ceremony on Anegada said had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic which struck in 2020, the renewable energy project would have been completed about a year ago. He added, “It is overdue in the first sense, that with everything we know about the damaging effects of fossil fuels; the world is playing catch-up with the climate crisis – and some people and some countries have still not yet gotten the message that time is running out to save our planet.”

The British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) and Power52 executed the contract for the Anegada Hybrid Renewable Energy & Battery Storage System (BESS) Project in November 2021 in the sum of $4,687,944.72.

“The long-term goal is for us to get to around 70 to 80 percent renewable energy across the Virgin Islands. This project will reduce diesel-produced electricity on Anegada by 90 to 95 percent,” Honourable Rymer said. 

The BVIEC subsidises the cost of electricity for residents on Anegada, who are not connected to the main electrical grid. This is significantly higher than the fuel used to produce electricity on the main grid. The completed project is expected to reduce the overall cost and reduce the financial burden on the BVIEC.

The project has a substantial completion and commissioning date of November 2023.  

Photographs: 

1) Honourable Kye M. Rymer, Deputy Premier and Minister for Communications and Works.

2) Ground-breaking L to R: Deputy Premier and Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Kye M. Rymer; CEO & Co-Founder Power52 Clean Energy Access, Mr. Rob Wallace; General Manager BVI Electricity Cooperation, Mr. Leroy A.E. Abraham; Premier and Minister for Finance, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley.