Revelation sparks joy in HOA
It happened in the middle of a routine House of Assembly sitting on June 21, a day that will go down in Virgin Islands history.
The meeting was proceeding as usual when Opposition Leader Dr. Orlando Smith asked Communications and Works Minister Julian Fraser about the high cost of electricity.
Predictably, Mr. Fraser responded by blaming the price of oil.
“This is not something that can be controlled locally,” he said, adding that the ministry is encouraging residents to conserve power.
And that’s when it happened.
Revelation
The next time the minister opened his mouth, he uttered what his colleagues would later describe as a divine revelation.
“The only alternative to the high cost of oil is an alternative form of energy,” he said.
As soon as he spoke the words, the HOA immediately went silent. Jaws dropped. The media gallery gasped. Cars screeched to a stop on the road outside.
You could have heard a pin drop. In fact, you did, almost, because Education and Culture Minister Andrew Fahie dropped his pen.
But no one even seemed to notice Mr. Fahie’s faux pas, because they were so inspired by Mr. Fraser’s idea.
Dr. Smith later described Mr. Fraser’s remark as “a lightning bolt from heaven” that shook legislators into action.
“There were harps playing in the distance, and you heard the voices of angels singing,” Dr. Smith said. “I immediately knew that he was exactly right. Sometimes it doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you sit on: The minister had found a solution that both parties could endorse.”
The two opposition members immediately rose from their seats and met the members of government in the middle of the room.
There, they exchanged handshakes, high-fives and hugs, and agreed to work together to bring alternative energy to the territory.
Sun and wind
After the HOA meeting, the premier stood in front of the building with his face turned toward the sun and his arms spread out to catch the breeze. He was beaming.
“It was just such a brilliant idea,” Mr. O’Neal said. “Who would have thought of using the sun and the wind for power, here in the Virgin Islands?”
Natural Resources and Labour Minister Omar Hodge agreed.
“Our ministry spends countless hours trying to think up ways to protect the environment, but this never occurred to us until Honourable Fraser was inspired,” he said.
Starting now, legislators said, they will work together to revise the outdated regulations that discourage the use of alternative energy here.
“Can you believe that law is still on the books?” Mr. Hodge asked. “It didn’t seem strange before. But then Honourable Fraser spoke his truth, and the legislation fell to pieces around us.”
Mr. O’Neal chuckled.
“Now that you think about it, it all makes sense,” he said. “The rest of the world had been using alternative energy for a long time — including several Caribbean countries.”
Asked how he arrived at the idea, Mr. Fraser shook his head thoughtfully.
“I don’t know. It just came to me,” he said. “A few businesses had applied for permission to build solar-power systems, but we just ignored them. Then in the House, something suddenly clicked. I realised that going green could solve a lot of problems here.”
He explained that alternative energy would reduce the territory’s dependence on foreign oil, while helping protect the environment — and maybe even saving money in the long run.
“It’s what you call a win-win-win situation,” the minister said.
Buying in
Residents around the territory were equally amazed by the minister’s idea.
“I’m considering putting solar panels on my roof now,” a Windy Hill man said. “I’d never thought of doing that before.”
A Road Town business owner spoke similarly. “I said to myself, ‘Why didn’t I think of this earlier? It seems so obvious.’ I guess that’s why I’m not a member of the House of Assembly,” she said.
A resort manager praised Mr. Fraser’s “outside-the-box” thinking.
“This sort of creativity is what will set this territory apart from its counterparts around the Caribbean,” she said. “We should build a wind farm and name it after that highly effective minister.”