BMR to re-energise St Croix, USVI

• August 17 2018
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report/bmr-to-re-energise-st-croix-usvi-acquires-solar-plant_141658

BMR Energy Ltd, parent company to BMR Jamaica Ltd, announced recently that it has purchased the four-megawatt, fixed ground-mount solar facility from NRG Energy, Inc in St Croix, US Virgin Islands, which was damaged during Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

According to a release from the energy company, BMR will take over the power purchase agreement that NRG currently has with The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA), as well as restoration efforts of the St Croix solar farm that sustained significant damage during last year's hurricane.

“Restoring the solar facility in Spanish Town, St Croix, to full capacity generation is core to our mission of supporting clean energy infrastructure in the Caribbean and Latin America,” said Bruce Levy, CEO of BMR Energy. “This acquisition is an opportunity to show how to build for stronger hurricane resiliency and offer greater value to the region. As the prolonged restoration in these hurricane-devastated areas highlights — with Puerto Rico being the most extreme example — we must remain committed to rebuilding our infrastructure right and successfully maintaining projects through long-term ownership.”

The acquisition of the solar plant in St Croix will be BMR's third market through which the company has a presence in the Latin American and Caribbean region, after Guatemala and Jamaica. In the latter the company operates a wind farm in Malvern, St Elizabeth, which serves about 15,000 customers with 11 wind turbines and has the potential to generate 1,200,000 megawatts per year or about three per cent of Jamaica's energy demand.

In 2016, the Sir Richard Branson-owned Virgin Investments purchased BMR Energy. The British billionaire has long been an advocate for clean energy, and in 2009 he co-founded Carbon War Room, a global non-profit organisation that aims to strengthen and expand economic efforts not reliant on fossil fuels.

Branson has also been credited for championing a “green energy revolution” to make Caribbean economies more sustainable by replacing obsolete fossil-fuel power grids with renewable energy systems that can withstand extreme weather and boost economic development in the Caribbean.

“BMR Energy is an expert in developing clean energy — the team also acts as a long-term partner and is working to make a huge difference in the region,” Branson is quoted in the release. “The world needs to find ways to introduce more resilient clean energy. The Caribbean has an abundance of clean energy sources, and BMR [is] taking great strides towards helping create zero-carbon energy supplies for years to come.”