U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS– Virgin Islands Energy Office (VIEO) Director Kyle Fleming is pleased to announce that the agency recently completed the installation of eight Level II electric vehicle (EV) chargers at four new charging sites on the island of St. Croix. The chargers have been energized and are open to the public. The EV Charger Pilot project is just the first wave of VIEO’s transformative push to make Virgin Islands roadways ideal thoroughfares for clean running EVs.
The procurement of 34 Level II Siemens VersiCharge EV chargers was made possible through a portion of a $1.1 million US Department of the Interior Energizing Insular Communities (EIC) grant. In the coming months VIEO plans to install the remainder of the charging sites throughout St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John in public facing locations. VIEO expects that the next wave of installations will be completed before the closeof the 3rd Quarter of 2025.
As residents and tourists alike reveled in the delights of the Crucian Festival Season this December, VIEO was hard at work augmenting the territory’s critical EV infrastructure. Installing the four charging sites, located at the Christian “Shan” Hendricks Vegetable Market in Christiansted, VIEO’s Estate Carlton office, adjacent to the Virgin Islands Economic Development Agency’s Office in the William D. Roebuck Industrial Park, and at Ziggy’s Island Market, required intensive intergovernmental cooperation as well as the coordination of multiple contractors. Lessons learned during the pilot program will translate to a smooth installation process for the remainder of the chargers.
Thanks to the EIC grant, VIEO will be able to initially offer free charging at its charging sites, a move that Director Fleming explained will help to promote the technology and could help further spur its wide adoption. The chargers are equipped with software that can track how much energy they dispense, and once the grant period of performance concludes, VIEO will implement a sensible rate structure.
Brian Boschen’s excitement was evident the morning of Jan. 10th, as he prepared to plug his Nissan Leaf into the Ziggy’s charger and make history as the first private citizen to utilize VIEO’s new infrastructure. Boschen, the senior chef at the Lighthouse Mission, had just left from finishing up preparing devilled eggs and other hearty fare for the charity’s clients. An early adopter of EVs and rooftop solar, Boschen said that in all the years he’s been driving electric on St. Croix, he’s never worried about losing power midway through a trip. Adding that the island’s small size meant that even the modest range of his aging vehicle was more than sufficient for town to town trips.
Later that morning Curtis Flemming, owner of Flemming’s Tax and Bookkeeping Services, added his name to the history books when he became the first to use the Shan Market charger. Flemming was all smiles as he mounted an adapter to the Siemen’s charger to make it compatible with his Tesla vehicle. Flemming said that he was happy to see the chargers going up around the island.
The Virgin Islands Energy Office is continuing to implement the Mandates of legislative Act 7075 and guidance that was provided through the “USVI Transportation Electrification Roadmap” which the VIEO released in 2022. These critical infrastructure deployments represent a community facing milestone that effectively demonstrates the Electric Vehicle Market Transformation that is well underway in the territory.
