By the Caribbean Journal staff

BMR Energy, which was purchased by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group in 2016, has purchased a major solar farm in the Caribbean.

The St Croix facility, which was owned by NRG Energy, was damaged during Hurricane Maria last year.

The company will take over the power purchase agreement and restoration efforts at the solar farm.

The project has been running at less than 45 percent capacity for nearly a year, according to BMR.

“BMR Energy is an expert in developing clean energy – the team also acts as a long-term partner and is working to make a huge difference in the region,” said Richard Branson, founder at Virgin Group. “The world needs to find ways to introduce more resilient clean energy. The Caribbean has an abundance of clean energy sources, and BMR are taking great strides towards helping create zero-carbon energy supplies for years to come.”

The US Virgin Islands solar farm is the third market for BMR, which already has green projects in both Jamaica and Guatemala.

“Restoring the solar facility in Spanish Town, St. Croix, to full capacity generation is core to our mission of supporting clean energy infrastructure in the Caribbean and Latin America,” said Bruce Levy, CEO of BMR Energy. “This acquisition is an opportunity to show how to build for stronger hurricane resiliency and offer greater value to the region. As the prolonged restoration in these hurricane-devastated areas highlights – with Puerto Rico being the most extreme example – we must remain committed to rebuilding our infrastructure right and successfully maintaining projects through long-term ownership.”

When restored to full energy-generating capacity, the solar farm will power nearly 1,600 homes on St Croix.

The company said it expects to complete the restoration by October.

— CJ