St. John to get four backup generators as WAPA tackles blackout crisis

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority outlined plans Thursday to install four emergency generators on St. John, targeting an end to the rolling blackouts that have affected residents as the island depends entirely on electricity fed through an undersea cable from St. Thomas.

The installation will place two 2.5-megawatt units in each of Coral Bay and Frank Bay, paired with a 4-megawatt battery storage system in Coral Bay. Both locations will include 20,000-gallon diesel storage capacity. WAPA CEO Karl Knight explained that the generators will activate when power fails to any St. John feeder line, ultimately enabling the island to operate as an independent microgrid.

With St. John's peak consumption standing at roughly 8 megawatts, the 10-megawatt capacity will supply power to the entire island while leaving room for expansion, according to WAPA project manager Maxwell George. The units, which arrived in August and remain stored on St. Thomas, consist of enclosed trailers measuring 55 feet by 11 feet by 15 feet eight inches. Transformers are due to arrive in November, after which barges will transport the generators to St. John for positioning using crawler flatbed vehicles.

Knight noted that noise reduction is built into the generator design, and WAPA intends to use landscaping to screen them from view. The authority targets early 2027 for full operation.

The St. John Committee of the Coastal Zone Management commission held the hearing to assess federal consistency, since federal funding supports the project. However, several speakers and former officials contended that WAPA must also pursue the full territorial CZM permit process. Committee member Kurt Marsh questioned the timing, noting that WAPA secured additional funding in spring and purchased the generators then, yet the permit discussion began only when the units arrived in autumn.

Former CZM commissioner David Silverman stated that territorial permits remain mandatory under V.I. Code, regardless of federal consistency approval. CZM Director Marlon Hibbert countered that the current review mirrors a major CZM process, though Marsh and resident Sharon Coldren pressed for more detailed technical drawings and reports before moving forward.

Maya Craig, representing the Coral Bay Community Council, raised concerns about visual impact and noise levels. St. John resident Jezellia Sujanani urged rapid installation, saying vulnerable populations face genuine risk during extended outages. "We need them installed and online in early 2027. My concern is they won't be online as has been projected," she said. Committee chairman Andrew Penn indicated the panel will issue a determination at a subsequent meeting.