Dear Source:
Suggestion: Work with Hovensa to establish a Liquefied Natural Gas receiving station; let a private power company (FPL??). Construct a large enough natural gas burning generation station to export electricity to St. Thomas, St. John, & Puerto Rico as well as the other nearby islands. If Hovensa is not willing / able to do the LNG facility, put it at the deep-water port at Renaissance Park.
I read an article about a year ago that FPL was considering laying a cable from Florida to Puerto Rico; it would be much less expensive to lay from St. Croix to Puerto Rico and the taxes for FPL (or other private power company) would be much less in St. Croix than on the mainland if they qualified as an EDC company.
Winner Hovensa: Hovensa no longer has to supply discounted fuel to WAPA.
Winner Environment: Natural Gas is much cleaner burning than oil power generation.
Winner Consumer: Natural gas becomes more readily available for everybody on island.
Winner Consumer: Electricity is cheaper; residents and businesses save money that can be invested elsewhere in local economy.
Winner Economy: Large regional power generation facility provides high paying jobs with good benefits that would generate taxes for island improvements and provide a trade for the youth to learn.
Winner Consumer: Get WAPA out of power generation business and let them focus on upgrading and maintaining distribution systems for better reliability.
Winner Redevelopment: Renaissance Park gets a substantial development to anchor redevelopment of the deepwater port resource.
Winner Consumer: Ratepayers do not have to pay for new power generation facilities as they would be funded by the private investment from FPL or a similar company.
Winner Entire Region: Regional electrical problems are solved.
Seems like a winning situation that needs somebody with ambition to spearhead.
Barry Jones
Gainesville, Florida
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