The V.I. Water and Power Authority is pursuing five refurbished generators with a combined capacity of approximately 45 megawatts to replace leased generation on St. Croix and expand capacity on St. Thomas, while factory-new equipment remains years away, according to CEO Karl Knight.
Mr. Knight outlined the plan during the Public Services Commission’s October 13 meeting, identifying two approximately 9-megawatt units for the St. Thomas-St. John district and three for St. Croix. The generators are Mars 90 gas turbines manufactured by Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar subsidiary.
The two units intended for the Harley power plant on St. Thomas would provide approximately 18 megawatts. The three allocated to St. Croix would provide approximately 27 megawatts and allow WAPA to displace generation it currently leases, Mr. Knight said.
Although WAPA refers to the acquisition as temporary power, the refurbished units are expected to remain in its fleet alongside the factory-new generators planned under the FEMA prudent replacement program. Asked by PSC Chairman David Hughes what would happen to the interim equipment after those later replacements arrive, Mr. Knight said, “We are purchasing them outright,” explaining that they would complement the new generators.
The current plan follows consideration of three larger Titan 130 generators, which Mr. Knight described as approximately 15 megawatts each. WAPA is now pursuing the five smaller Mars 90 units, dividing their capacity between the two districts.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Knight said WAPA looked forward to the arrival of five generation units in 2027 under the prudent replacement program. Later in the meeting, discussing the identified Mars 90 units, he said officials hoped to conduct load testing within a few weeks. He did not provide a specific delivery or operating date.
The timetable for factory-new equipment extends considerably further. Mr. Knight said late 2028 was the earliest WAPA could acquire a generator coming off a manufacturing line, and that timing depended on entering the manufacturer’s queue immediately. “The earliest manufacturing time we're seeing is towards the end of 2028,” he said.
The search for generators that burn liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, has shaped the interim acquisition. Mr. Knight said WAPA could have obtained new temporary generators for the Harley plant more quickly, but sourcing LPG-burning equipment had taken longer. He said the incoming units would be more efficient than the GE gas turbines WAPA currently operates.
“As you can imagine, LPG generators are not commonplace in the industry. It took us some time to source those,” he said.
The Mars 90 plan is separate from the four 2.5-megawatt standby generators acquired for St. John, totaling 10 megawatts. Mr. Knight identified those units as diesel-burning and said the need to move quickly had informed that choice, while the Harley acquisition reflected WAPA’s longer-term fuel strategy.
