Toshiba begins work on Virgin Islands solar plant

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Toshiba International has begun construction on a 4MW solar project on the island of St Croix with the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA).

The project, the first of its kind to be proposed for the 50,000 population island, will be built in Estate Spanish Town.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Toshiba will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2014.

The plant will include 19,600 PV 255W modules, connected to eight 500KW inverters, and using 817 solar racking structures.

A 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed on 4 June between WAPA and Toshiba; energy will go to St. Croix’s national grid.  

The plant is expected to supply 8% of St. Croix’s energy peak requirement and 3% of the Virgin Islands territory peak requirement – WAPA will be less dependent on expensive fossil fuels, lowering local utility bills. 

The starting price agreed under the PPA is US$0.155 per KWh, increasing by 1.5% every year for an overall cost of US$0.1716 per KWh. This rate is less than what WAPA would pay for the same amount of electricity produced in other power plants, it said.

WAPA also signed PPA contracts with SunEdison and Lanco Virgin Islands, who between them will build a further 18MW of solar energy for the territory.  

The island’s government is aiming to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 60%, by 2025.

Read Next

September 15, 2025
Advances in edge-based artificial intelligence are helping make solar and storage interoperable by tackling the data challenge, writes Andrew Foster.
September 15, 2025
Italy’s latest renewable energy tender has received 12GW of bids, of which the majority, 10GW, came from solar PV.
September 15, 2025
Sunrun has priced a securitisation of leases and power purchase agreements, taking its non-recourse debt capital raised in Q3 above US$1.5 billion. 
September 15, 2025
Norwegian energy firm Statkraft has agreed to divest a portion of its renewable energy portfolio to Serentica Renewables.
September 15, 2025
UNSW spin-out company Lab360 Solar has been awarded funding from ARENA to bring its drone-based PV inspection technology to market.
Premium
September 15, 2025
The UK government and solar industry have jointly published a long-anticipated roadmap detailing how to maximise the country’s solar potential. Chris Hewett, CEO of Solar Energy UK takes a closer look at the details.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines