Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Energy Expert To Help Gov't Slash $26.1M Fossil Fuel Bill

Energy Expert To Help Gov't Slash $26.1M Fossil Fuel Bill

The Government plans to hire an energy expert to help roll back the $26.1M annual fossil fuel cost and into Green energy.

Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon. Andrew Fahie said Government is pressing ahead with its plans to reduce the Territory's dependency of fossil fuel which is seeing millions leave the territory to enrich other countries.

"To ensure that this is done properly and in a timely manner, we will be, in short order, soliciting the services of an energy expert to work between the Premiers Office and the BVIEC [BVI Electricity Corporation] Board so that our Green energy transformation is a success," Premier Fahie indicated.

In a statement ahead of the Virgin Islands Party's first year in office, the Premier outlined the Government's plans for the energy sector.

Currently, all fossil fuel consumed in the BVI is imported from other countries and according to the Premier, the average base cost of fossil fuel over the past five years is $2.18 per gallon.

"I am advised that the average consumption of fossil fuel in the BVI is presently 1 million gallons per month. Therefore, the BVI consumes $2.18 million in fossil fuel per month at base cost. That is $26.16 million per year, and $130.8 million over five years, that is leaving our shores to enrich other countries and other economies. Put another way, the BVI people and our economy loses $26.16 million every year by importing fossil fuel," Premier Fahie outlined.

He added, that as our economy grows, the Territory's fuel consumption will grow even further beyond the 1 million gallons per month, and this means even more money will be leaving our shores.

"Green energy is free. Thus, by reducing our fossil fuel consumption by 60 percent, we can reduce this leakage by about $15.7 million per year, based on the current usage and prices. That would be savings for the people of the Virgin Islands of $78.5 million dollars over the next five years," the Premier explained.

He shared that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and LPG are cleaner and cheaper fuels. Therefore, there will be even further savings and benefits for the BVI people when we switch to CNG and LPG for the remaining 40 percent of our fuel needs.

"This is money that can remain in the pockets of Virgin Islanders or money which you, the people, can spend on other things such as improving your homes and properties, buying food or educating and caring for your children, or you can put that into your savings. That is money that can strengthen the BVI’s economy instead of some other country’s economy," Premier Fahie shared.


Big Plans

The Premier disclosed that Government intends to get to 60 percent Green by 2030 or before. He said that a series of public awareness meetings are planned for March to educate the population on how they can participate in the Green economy and how they can go about accessing the benefits and incentives of our Green initiatives.

To the business community and investors, Premier Fahie said that the Government is open to receiving unsolicited proposals to create partnerships that will assist the Government in achieving our vision to the benefit of all.

He disclosed that within the first month of your Government’s tenure, the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) was mandated to take a leading role in driving the Territory’s transition to Green energy sources.

The Government has already implemented initiatives, including zero tax on the import of clean energy systems such as solar and wind power generation equipment, hybrid vehicles and conversion of vehicles to Liquified Propane Gas (LPG), for a period of one year.

"I announced that there would be a comprehensive mechanism for private citizens who generate their own electricity to earn revenue by selling power back to the national grid. By the end of 2020, instead of you paying BVIEC for electricity, it can be the other way around if you Go Green. This is how your young, new Government has been working for you," Premier Fahie stated.

According to Premier Fahie, Government is on the way to making Anegada the first island in the Virgin Islands to generate its own electricity. BVIEC is rolling out a project to create a microgrid powered by solar energy using solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and battery storage.

Last November, a solar power system was installed in the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) building in East End through a partnership involving BVIEC and a BVI-based renewable energy company, aTec. Premier Fahie indicated that this is a grid-tied system and is helping BVIEC to develop the policies, systems and regulations for our transformation of the energy sector including the introduction of net-billing for customers to sell excess power to the grid.

In order to prepare for jobs in the new Green energy industry, Premier Fahie reminded that Government has successfully sealed a partnership involving the Premier’s Office BVIEC, Power52 and the H Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) to train youth from across all nine Districts in the installation of renewable energy systems.

The training programme was launched last month.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×