Overview

Resources and Consumption

The U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. territory located in the Caribbean, with a total area of 134 square miles, about twice the size of Washington, D.C. This U.S. territory has a population of about 108,000. The islands have a subtropical climate and experience relatively low humidity with little seasonal temperature variation and a rainy season from September to November. The economy of the islands is dominated by tourism, which accounts for 80 percent of the Territory’s employment and gross domestic product. The agricultural sector is small and most food is imported. The manufacturing sector consists mainly of petroleum refining, rum distilling, textiles, and electronics.

Like most other Caribbean islands, the Virgin Islands has few conventional energy resources and is a net importer of energy. A large petroleum refinery meets over 85 percent of the Virgin Islands’ demand for petroleum products. The Virgin Islands consumes no natural gas and very little coal. In 2006, the economy was almost 9 times more energy intensive than the U.S. average. (Energy intensity is measured as total primary energy consumption per dollar of gross domestic product.) Per capita energy consumption in 2006 was over 5 times higher than the U.S. average.

Petroleum

The Virgin Islands has one operating petroleum refinery, located on the island of St. Croix. The Hovensa oil refinery is one of the 10 largest crude oil refineries in the world, with a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day. Although Venezuela was the source for the majority of Hovensa’s crude oil supplies in 2007 at 300,000 barrels per day, the refinery also receives substantial shipments from Gabon, Nigeria, and Azerbaijan. In 2008, almost 320,000 barrels per day of petroleum products were shipped to the U.S. Mainland through the Virgin Islands’ main port, which is located at Christiansted on the island of St. Croix.

Natural Gas

The Virgin Islands does not produce or consume natural gas.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

The Virgin Islands does not produce coal and consumes only a small amount of that fuel. Electricity in the Virgin Islands is produced almost entirely by oil-fired generators using No. 6 heavy fuel oil and No. 2 diesel fuel, both obtained from the Hovensa refinery. Two electric power plants, the Richmond plant near Christiansted on St. Croix and the Randolph E. Harley plant near Krum Bay on St. Thomas, supply electricity to the islands. The Harley plant generates electricity for St. Thomas, St. John, Hassel Island, and Water Island. The three smaller islands are supplied with electricity by underwater cable. St. John also has an emergency diesel-fueled generating unit.

The Virgin Islands Energy Office recently provided a grant for a 30-kilowatt photovoltaic system to a local hospital in order to help reduce government consumption of electricity from nonrenewable sources by 20 percent by 2012. The energy office also offers rebates for the installation of photovoltaic panels and solar water heaters.

The Virgin Islands has potential for wind energy generation: wind resources up to class 4 (up to 16.8 miles per hour at 50 meters above ground level) are found at well-exposed sites along the central ridges of St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John, as well as the northern, eastern, and southern coasts of the islands. The windward sides of the smaller islands also have wind energy potential with wind resources up to class 3 (15.8 miles per hour at 50 meters above ground level). Wind speeds designated class 3 or higher are suitable for most utility-scale wind turbine applications. In order to promote wind energy, the Virgin Islands Energy Office offers a 20-percent rebate (up to $3,500) on the purchase price of wind turbines.

In 2007, GeoNet opened an ethanol dehydration facility on the island of St. Croix that distills ethanol from Brazil and ships the final product to the east and west coasts of the U.S. Mainland. The final product is used as an oxygenate in motor gasoline. GeoNet expects to ship about 100 million gallons of dehydrated ethanol to the U.S. Mainland each year.