The Virgin Islands Energy Office is pleased to support access to workforce development and renewable energy education opportunities in the territory with the donation Wednesday of $150,000 to the University of the Virgin Islands Renewable Energy Technology Scholarship Fund. VIEO Director Kyle Fleming, alongside Deputy Director Michael Jaffurs, presented the donation to UVI’s Caribbean Green Technology Center (CGTC) Director Dr. Greg Guannel during a check presentation ceremony hosted at the newly commissioned UVI RTPark Solar Farm & Teaching Array.
The donation, which will support 10 specialized courses and one internship within UVI’s Renewable Energy Technology (RET) Associate of Applied Science degree program, underscores VIEO’s ongoing commitment to fostering the territory’s next generation of renewable energy technicians and entrepreneurs, according to VIEO Director Kyle Fleming.
“By leveraging a DOE grant to invest $150,000 in scholarships for UVI’s Renewable Energy Technologies program, the Virgin Islands Energy Office is doubling down on a common-sense synergy: aligning our federal funding with a homegrown workforce development pipeline that will build, maintain, and expand the clean energy systems our community continues to embrace. This scholarship ensures that the federal funding secured by VIEO reduces cost barriers for Virgin Islanders seeking to gain the expertise needed to lead the territory’s energy transformation,” Director Fleming said.
Through this donation VIEO will fund a two-year course of study focused on providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to immediately enter the renewable energy workforce upon receipt of their degree. RET students will learn foundational electrical concepts, renewable energy technologies, and how to install and repair photovoltaic systems. Once completed, students who have graduated from the RET program will be fully capable of passing the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) photovoltaic system (PV) Associate examination, an internationally recognized certification for PV installation companies and practitioners.
With VIEO’s donation, excitement is building at CGTC that a new wave of students interested in exploring a career in the fast growing realm of renewable energy will enroll in the RET program, Dr. Guannel said.
“This generous investment from the Virgin Islands Energy Office ensures that more Virgin Islanders can access the training needed to participate in the territory’s clean energy transition,” said Dr. Guannel. “By reducing financial barriers, we can help students gain the technical skills that are urgently needed in our community and across the region. We are sincerely grateful to VIEO for its partnership and commitment to supporting the next generation of renewable energy professionals.”
The renewable energy sector has been growing explosively in the territory over the past decade as residents look to outfit their homes and businesses with reliable clean backup power and storage solutions. With the growing portfolio of utility scale renewable generation projects that are coming online and supplying significant amounts of energy to the grid, as well as the robust commercial and residential markets, the demand for skilled renewable energy technicians is forecast to remain strong for the foreseeable future. VIEO and UVI’s partnership will ensure that the territory has a steady pipeline of well trained professionals ready to enter the renewable workforce.
This donation was made possible by the support of the US Department of Energy through a grant awarded to the territory under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The registration window for the Spring 2026 semester is open and interested members of the community are encouraged to visit uvi.edu, or call the university’s Registrar’s Office at 340-692-4104, to enroll or to request more information on the RET program. The course is currently being offered predominantly online, but students are required to attend in-person laboratory sessions hosted on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. GCTC is working towards outfitting a renewable laboratory on St. Thomas, and is optimistic about the possibility of offering the lab on the Orville E. Kean Campus in the future.
