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Most of the $270,000 used to fund the project came from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds, but some local money also contributed. The project falls under the auspices of Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) initiative. Its USVI Energy Road Map, Charting the Course to a Clean Energy Future, calls for the reduction of fossil fuel use in the Virgin Island by 60 percent by 2025. The Roadmap, produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which is giving technical assistance to the Energy Office on this project; had three scenarios which could produce from 12 MW to 33 MW of wind power for the Virgin Islands. Indications are that the sites being measured have enough wind to make sense for development: the data being gathered now is referred to as “bankable” data. In other words, it will increase the confidence of potential investors about the wind and solar resources on both islands. “The goal of this project is to collect data that meets or exceeds North American industry standards for developable solar and wind projects to help attract potential developers of renewable energy projects.” says Joseph Roberts, senior wind engineer for NREL. The towers are measuring winds speeds and direction at three different levels -- 35 meters; 47 meters and 57 meters. SODAR is an acronym for Sonic Detection and Ranging. This type of measuring device has become more acceptable in recent years. The Energy Office believes that using SODAR in conjunction with the tower data will give precise and very reliable data. The pyrometers will gather information that will be valuable to solar project developers. Most solar developers, when working on the Virgin Islands now, have to refer to solar irradiation data gathered in Puerto Rico. This new data will be specific for the U.S Virgin Islands. Plans for how a third tower will be handled are already in motion. That tower could not be put up at this time because it was damaged. Dr. David Smith, of the University of the Virgin Islands, will be the lead on monitoring the equipment and data and to keep the instrumentation working well. Here is a slideshow showing the installations. http://www.slideshare.net/EnergyOffice/wind-measures-devices-go-up-in-virgin-islands For a report NREL published earlier this year regarding the opportunities for a wind farm on St. Thomas see. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/55415.pdf.

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Knight says, not only can residents save money, but they can also reduce the increases in carbon emissions that occur when more people are lighting up their homes, cooking big meals and driving to holiday festivities. "VIenergizing is the right thing to do for our environment," said Knight. Besides using LED lights Knight offered the following tips on VIenergizing their holidays:

• Using timers to reliably turn off holiday lights when no one is around to enjoy them can further reduce energy costs. When retiring for the evening, reduce costs and increase safety by unplugging all lights at the wall outlet.

• For outside lighting, install a motion sensor that turns lights on automatically when someone walks up, and turns them off automatically after 1-5 minutes. Use mirrors or tinsel around indoor lights to heighten their effect.

• Always purchase Energy Star labeled products for holiday decorating and for gift giving.

• When cooking for the holidays, use a microwave oven as often as possible. Microwave ovens use up to 75% less energy than conventional ovens. When using conventional ovens, do not open the door to peek at what’s cooking as it lowers the temperature inside, increases cooking time, and wastes energy. Keep refrigerators and freezers well stocked. A full refrigerator or freezer saves energy by reducing the recovery time when the door is opened. If the refrigerator or freezer is only partially full, store one gallon bottles of water to help keep the temperature regulated.

To find out more about the EDIN-USVI energy revolution and how you can be part of the solution, visit, www.vienergy.org