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Bloomberg
A clean-power company owned by billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has taken over a Caribbean solar farm that was damaged last year by Hurricane Maria.
Virgin’s BMR Energy unit, which develops, owns and operates clean-energy projects in the Caribbean and Latin America, plans to restore the
4-megawatt farm in St. Croix, the US Virgin Islands, and take over a power-purchase agreement, according to a statement. It has been running at less than 45 percent of capacity since the September storm. Terms of the acquisition from NRG Energy Inc. weren’t disclosed.
Some Caribbean islands have turned to renewables to
diversify fuel supplies for electricity generation. Branson — who owns and lives on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands — has previously advocated for clean and renewable energy sources. Virgin bought New York-based BMR in 2016.
The overhaul of the solar farm in Spanish Town, St. Croix, should be complete by October, BMR CEO Bruce Levy said.