BMR Energy reconstructs damaged solar plant in Donoe

ST. THOMAS — Residents had a behind-the-scenes look at the Donoe solar plant to learn more about the facility's operations since its recent reconstruction.

The solar plant tour on Thursday was organized by the University of the Virgin Islands’ Caribbean Green Technology Center as a part of the Energy Fair that was held Oct. 15.

The Donoe solar farm was originally built in 2015, but sustained significant damage during the 2017 twin hurricanes.

In 2020, BMR Energy purchased the site, and in 2021 began construction of the new solar farm with technological advancements and structural enhancements to improve the project's ability to withstand tropical storms.

David Perri, BMR's Energy's engineering director, said that before Hurricane Irma screw piles were used to mount the solar panel racking system and those were pulled out of the ground during the storm.

In the reconstruction, driven piles were installed deeper into the ground for stability.

"They are driven into the ground at least six feet, we did testing to make sure that they hold into the ground nice and tight," Perri said. "If they did not hold into the ground with just the driven pile, we actually concreted them in."

He explained that the solar panels also have reinforced mounting, with clamps and bolts connecting them to the racking system, and were lab tested to ensure they could withstand hurricane-force winds.

"These are built to withstand 180 mph winds, the originals were up to 150 mph," Perri said.

The facility has 14,000 solar panels that can harness up to 6.4 megawatts of DC power, which is then converted and directed to the V.I. Water and Power Authority grid.

The system is expected to deliver over 10,400 megawatt hours of energy to WAPA annually, which will decrease the amount of fuel oil that burns to provide electricity.

This year, the Donoe solar plant began producing electricity in April and reached full capacity in July.

Perri noted that the most expensive part of operating the solar farm has nothing to do with solar panels or invertors, it's keeping the grounds maintained.

The company has found a creative solution for this issue, and have 90 sheep that live on the grounds and roam during the day, eating grass or other plants.

St. Croix residents were invited on Tuesday to tour the Spanish Town solar plant, which is also owned and operated by BMR Energy.

BMR Energy is substantially owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and aims to reduce the impact of climate change. The company has other renewable energy projects in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands.

For more information on the territory's solar farms, visit bmrenergy.com.