— Islanded Micro-grid Will Generate Reliable, High-Quality
Electricity Under Cutting Edge Diesel Reduction Agreement that
Dramatically Reduces Fuel Usage —
PRINCETON, N.J. & BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2014--
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) and Virgin Limited Edition announced today
the entry into a cutting-edge Diesel Reduction Agreement for the
provision of renewable power to Necker Island. Pursuant to this
Agreement, NRG will develop a renewables-driven micro-grid for the
entire island, supplying high quality, reliable electricity powered at
least 75% by an integrated array of solar, wind and energy storage
technologies. This system will be supported by new energy efficiency and
energy control automation designed to reduce overall energy use and
synchronize energy consumption with renewable energy production on the
island. The agreement was signed and announced at the “Creating Climate
Wealth Summit,” by Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, and
NRG CEO David Crane.
The Creating Climate Wealth Summit was hosted by the Carbon War Room, in
partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute, as part of the Ten Island
Renewable Challenge. The Necker Island Project represents “Demo Island”
of the Challenge that seeks to help island nations flip off fossil
fuels. The agreement between Virgin and NRG demonstrates that the
technical solutions required to achieve this result exist today.
By deploying highly distributed and locally automated and controlled
installations, many island nations of the Caribbean can reduce and
ultimately eliminate their dependence on fossil fuels for electricity.
The high cost of imported fossil fuels across these islands creates an
opportunity to deliver clean energy solutions today at a much lower
cost, without subsidies and with immense economic and environmental
benefit to the people of the Caribbean.
"With oil setting the marginal price of electricity, retail electricity
prices in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world, hindering
economic development, job creation and quality of life,” said Crane, CEO
of NRG. "By tapping into each island’s specific, readily available and
ample renewable energy resources, we can achieve an immediate and
significant reduction of operating expenses, imported fuel cost, carbon
footprint and other air emissions and noise pollution. The
renewables-driven micro-grid solution being designed and installed on
Necker is intended to demonstrate this and provide a scalable real life
application relevant to other islands of the Caribbean."
“The potential for more renewable energy across the world is huge
especially in places like the Caribbean, where islands offer an
excellent test bed to demonstrate and scale innovative, clean energy
solutions. While small compared to island nations, Necker is an ideal
‘guinea pig’ for the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge and will be
able to show the potential of ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies in
renewable energy,” said Branson, Founder of Virgin Group.
NRG, the largest competitive power generator in the US, has established
partnerships with leading industry suppliers and regional partners to
accelerate project development and execution in the Caribbean. NRG’s
solar and off-grid projects elsewhere in the Caribbean Basin have shown
that businesses can cut energy costs by transitioning to renewable
energy. At an island-wide and regional level, such savings represent the
opportunity to increase competitiveness across all industry sectors.
Lower energy expenditures also increase household disposable income,
stimulating consumer spending and savings.
A micro-grid is a network of distributed energy resources that can
either be grid-tied or islanded from the conventional grid. Micro-grids
allow a person, a building, a city or even an entire island to leverage
the most appropriate fuels and technologies to provide clean, reliable
and high quality power. To make the system financially viable requires
intelligent design to integrate multiple fuel sources seamlessly and
optimization through robust demand management to minimize system size.
Renewables-driven micro-grids typically use diesel generation – which
currently is the primary source of electricity on most islands in the
Caribbean – as a backup to solar, wind, geothermal and other renewables,
drastically reducing diesel consumption while making the model
compatible with existing infrastructure.
The installation of the renewable power system is subject to regulatory
approval in the British Virgin Islands, which the parties promptly will
seek to obtain with the appropriate regulators.
About NRG
NRG is leading a customer-driven change in the U.S. energy industry by
delivering cleaner and smarter energy choices, while building on the
strength of the nation’s largest and most diverse competitive power
portfolio. A Fortune 500 company, we create value through reliable and
efficient conventional generation while driving innovation in solar and
renewable power, electric vehicle ecosystems, carbon capture technology
and customer-centric energy solutions. Our retail electricity providers
– Reliant, Green Mountain Energy, Energy Plus and NRG Residential
Solutions – serve more than 2 million residential and commercial
customers throughout the country. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.
Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.
About Virgin Limited Edition
Virgin Limited Edition is an award-winning collection of unique
retreats, chosen for their beautiful locations and magnificent
surroundings; each offers a sense of fun, style, luxury and exceptional
personal service. The group includes Necker Island in the Caribbean’s
British Virgin Islands, Ulusaba Private Game Reserve in South Africa,
The Roof Gardens and Babylon Restaurant in London; Kasbah Tamadot in
Morocco, The Lodge in Verbier, Necker Belle, a 105 foot luxury
catamaran, Necker Nymph, a three man aero submarine and the latest
addition to join the portfolio, Mahali Mzuri, a luxury tented safari
camp in Kenya.
About Carbon War Room
The Carbon War Room is a global nonprofit, founded by Sir Richard
Branson and a team of like-minded entrepreneurs, that accelerates the
adoption of business solutions that reduce carbon emissions at gigaton
scale and advance the low-carbon economy. The organization focuses on
solutions that can be realized using proven technologies under current
policy landscapes. For more information contact press@carbonwarroom.com.
Source: NRG Energy, Inc.
NRG Energy Contacts
Karen Cleeve, 609-524-4608
or
Virgin
Limited Edition Contacts
Charlotte Tidball, +44 (0) 208 600 0468
charlotte.tidball@virginlimitededition.com
or
For
General Inquiries
microgrid@nrgenergy.com