Walking the Talk

Since Governor de Jongh announced his aggressive goal to reduce the U.S. Virgin Islands' fossil fuel-based energy use 60% by 2025, there have been skeptics who have rolled their eyes and dismissed it as so much more empty talk. But there has been a great deal of work going on behind the scenes of the Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) project in the USVI, and the comprehensive EDIN-USVI Energy Road Map published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) last week offers tangible evidence of that. Founded on in-depth analysis performed by the NREL team over the past year, the Road Map outlines in detail the path for achieving the territory's clean energy goals.

Now that there is a road map to follow, it will be imperative that the VI government and founding EDIN partners the VI Energy Office (VIEO) and the VI Water and Power Authority (WAPA) lead the way by "walking the talk." One way to do this is by adopting aggressive energy efficiency policies, programs, and projects that demonstrate leadership by example. When they do, they will be the first to reap the benefits of such action, and when they can demonstrate those benefits in real and tangible ways, the community will follow enthusiastically.

Not everyone has the means to install wind turbines and solar panels, but every individual, business, government agency, and community organization can make simple changes that reduce their energy use, lower their utility bill, and help preserve the islands' precious natural resources -- with little to no up-front investment. There are many things people can't control, but their own energy footprint is not one of them.

While end-use efficiency represents a relatively small percentage of the overall USVI goal, the USVI Energy Road Map demonstrates that tactics for increasing government, residential, and commercial energy efficiency are by far the most cost effective. Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit. In leading by example, government agencies, the utility, and forward-thinking businesses like Quality Electric Supply, Luis Huertas architectural design, Horizon Energy Systems VI, Asencios Construction, and Silva Energy have an opportunity to demonstrate how lots of little behavioral changes can add up to a big impact on the economy and the environment. What is required in the USVI is a cultural shift, and such shifts don't happen without bold and decisive action by visionary leaders.

No one understands this better than NREL. As the only national laboratory dedicated exclusively to energy efficiency and renewable energy research and deployment, it is essential that we walk the talk. That means living and breathing energy efficiency in every aspect of our work in a sincere and committed collective effort to make the laboratory a global model for sustainability.

Through the Sustainable NREL program, we strive to exemplify sustainability by maximizing efficient use of all resources, minimizing waste, preventing pollution, and serving as a positive force in economic, environmental, and community responsibility. Our leadership team takes the vision seriously, and we see and experience evidence of that every day. Sustainablility is literally infused into our organizational culture, and that means everyone, from the top down, is committed to walking the talk.

The Sustainable NREL site on NREL's intranet provides employees with a wealth of information on ways to walk the walk at work and at home, including tips on alternative commuting, alternative work schedules and telecommuting, parking, reducing energy and waste through recycling and composting, and reusing office supplies, as well as training on how to help NREL achieve near-zero waste. We live those tips at work, and we end up taking them home with us and sharing them with our families and friends. Amazingly, it doesn't take long before we see evidence that they too are "drinking the kool-aid."

Over the course of the past year, the EDIN-USVI partners have already implemented energy efficiency programs and projects that have made a significant impact in the territory. Some of those projects are highlighted in the latest issue of the EDIN-USVI Clean Energy Quarterly. But much more bold and decisive action will be required to engender the community buy-in, support, and participation that are needed to solve the USVI's energy crisis.

By adopting high-visibility internal programs that demonstrate organizational accountability, sincere commitment, and leadership by example, the VI government, WAPA, and visionary business leaders in the territory have an opportunity to create a ripple effect that will move the territory ever closer to reaching its agressive clean energy goal.