Global shifts in renewable energy and AI are driving demand for new infrastructure. With its cables, location, and energy potential, the USVI can lead — if it moves decisively.
This article continues the conversation begun in my earlier op-ed, “Virgin Islands at a Crossroads: Act Now or Miss the Next Global Economic Wave.” In that piece, I argued that the territory must align with global shifts in renewable energy, digital innovation, and the blue economy to avoid being left behind.
Here, I want to focus on one extraordinary — and largely untapped — opportunity already sitting beneath our feet: the undersea cables off the western end of St. Croix.
A Hidden Asset With Global Value
The Virgin Islands sits at one of the most strategic intersections in the world — connecting the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Few places can claim such positioning, and fewer still are already wired into the global digital economy.
St. Croix hosts an extraordinary concentration of unused internet bandwidth. As a major landing point for numerous submarine fiber optic cables linking North and South America, the island is home to a vast surplus of “dark fiber.” When paired with the territory-wide Virgin Islands Next Generation Network (ViNGN), this capacity creates a rare opportunity to attract data centers, cloud hubs, and other bandwidth-intensive industries that form the backbone of the modern economy.
For too long, this capacity has been overlooked. But in today’s world, connectivity is currency — and St. Croix is sitting on a resource of global significance.
The AI Infrastructure Race
Across the globe, technology companies are racing to build AI-ready infrastructure. Data centers — the backbone of this new economy — require two things in abundance: connectivity and power.
Countries such as Ireland and Singapore have successfully leveraged their connectivity and policy frameworks to attract billions in investment, though not without strains on their energy systems. The Virgin Islands can learn from these experiences. We have the cables, but we must now match them with the energy and industrial ecosystem required to support next-generation facilities.
Energy as the Enabler
AI data centers are far more power-intensive than traditional industries. To compete, the Virgin Islands must look beyond today’s fragile grid and plan for scalable, reliable energy over the next decade:
- Expanding solar, wind, and storage to industrial levels.
- Using transition solutions like liquefied natural gas (LNG) to ensure stability.
- Exploring advanced options like small modular reactors to anchor long-term growth.
Building toward 300–500 megawatts of generation capacity would make the territory competitive for AI data centers and advanced industries, while also stabilizing costs for residents and businesses.
A Transatlantic Gateway
What makes the Virgin Islands unique is not just cables and sunshine, but its position at the crossroads of three regions:
- Caribbean neighbors seeking deeper digital and energy integration.
- Latin America with its rapidly expanding markets.
- Africa, projected to host one-quarter of the world’s population by 2050, with surging demand for connectivity.
By positioning St. Croix as a hub linking these regions, the Virgin Islands could anchor a transatlantic digital corridor — exporting not only connectivity but also expertise in clean energy and digital resilience.
The Choice Before Us
The cables and dark fiber capacity on St. Croix are among the territory’s most valuable but under-appreciated assets. In an AI-driven economy, they could form the foundation of a new era of growth. But timing matters. The global race to build digital and energy infrastructure is happening now, and the window will not stay open forever.
The Virgin Islands can choose to be a bystander, or it can step forward as a leader. With connectivity beneath us, energy potential above us, and geography in our favor, the opportunity is ours to seize.
This piece is part of the “Virgin Islands at a Crossroads” series, which invites Virgin Islanders at home and abroad to join the conversation on building a resilient, diversified future.
— Bernard Dyer is a Virgin Islander in the diaspora, technologist, and strategist with more than 25 years of public-sector experience, including 16 years with Booz Allen Hamilton supporting digital transformation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is also a monthly co-host on WSTX 970 radio’s Community Digest, where he highlights new ideas and best practices to help build a more diversified and sustainable Virgin Islands economy.
Editor’s Note: Opinion articles do not represent the views of the Virgin Islands Source newsroom and are the sole expressed opinion of the writer. Submissions can be made to visource@gmail.com.
