When Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean in 2017, it left behind devastation that reshaped life on the islands.
“We lost about 90% of the above-ground power lines on St. John, and most people were out of power for more than six months,” remembered Lauren Strickland, a resident of St. John and co-founder of VI Solar Technologies.
At the time, Strickland and her husband, Tucker Strickland, were juggling relief logistics while raising their young family. They coordinated food and water distribution, secured shelter for neighbors, and improvised systems to keep the community safe. In those chaotic months, one truth became glaringly obvious:
“It was pretty apparent how important energy was… in being able to make sure that people were being fed collectively, that people were staying safe, that people had access to just their basic needs, and energy was so fundamental to the entire equation of it all working.”
That realization planted the seeds of what would become VI Solar Technologies.
From Crisis to Calling
In the early days after the storm, Strickland’s work focused on survival. “Basic food, water, shelter, you know, really getting basic needs to people,” she said. But as nonprofits shifted their attention from emergency relief to rebuilding, a new question emerged: what comes next?
Her answer was unequivocal. “Absolutely energy. How do we get backup battery systems? How do we get more solar panels? How do we get people energy sources now?”
Through a partnership with solar veteran Al Simpler of Simpler Solar, Strickland and her husband began training a small team on St. John. Their first projects weren’t flashy — they were chosen for impact. The Animal Care Center. The St. John School of the Arts. The Montessori School on St. Thomas. These places mattered, not just for the services they provided but for the sense of stability they brought back to the community.
“We kind of just focused on some of those nonprofits that we felt like could act as hubs within the community, and… support the programs that really were essential to moving forward,” Strickland explained.
Building for Resilience
Installing solar on hurricane-damaged buildings was both urgent and instructive. Each repair reinforced the need for durability in a place where storms were inevitable.
“Let’s do things right the first time when we’re rebuilding,” Strickland said. That mindset—resilience before speed—became the backbone of VI Solar’s philosophy.
As the company expanded, its scope also grew. Today, VI Solar designs and installs large commercial and residential systems. However, the heart of their approach remains unchanged: meeting people where they are and building trust through education.
Unlike the local utility, which struggles with accurate usage data, VI Solar conducts weeklong load analyses before proposing a system.
“It gives us a much better idea of how the system needs to look, and it gives people the knowledge that they need to actually be able to make a decision,” Strickland said. The company often does this work before a contract is signed. “Nine times out of 10, they come back because we have already invested in them… we’ve taken the time.”
A Dividing Line in the Blackouts
The importance of VI Solar’s work became even clearer in 2024, when the Virgin Islands experienced rolling blackouts.
“There was too much need and not enough power generation,” Strickland recalled.
For months, residents endured outages that followed no reliable schedule. Families threw out spoiled groceries, students struggled to study, and people with medical needs faced terrifying risks.
Meanwhile, clients with solar and battery systems hardly noticed the change.
“In some cases, [clients] didn’t even know when the rolling outages were happening,” Strickland said.
The contrast was stark.
“There was this huge gap… between people that were dealing with this really intense reality of day-to-day life, and people who we had helped make this switch to clean energy.”
Filling the Gaps Government Can’t
Strickland gives credit to local government staff working on energy transition initiatives, but says the pace isn’t fast enough.
“They move very slowly. People may be waiting around for years and years in order to receive the benefits of some of these initiatives, and that’s just not fast enough,” Strickland said.
So VI Solar steps in where it can. Not long ago, the company installed solar-powered lights at a playground after parents raised safety concerns.
“There were no working lights… after dark, it was very unsafe… We said, What can we do to fix this?”
One Bite at a Time
Despite the challenges, Strickland remains optimistic.
“I don’t want any of what I said to come across as… a bleak outlook for the future,” she emphasized. Instead, she sees the Virgin Islands as a model. “The future of clean energy in the US Virgin Islands will be an example for other communities, a really relatable example for places that will need someone to look to.”
The work is hard. The problems are big. But for Strickland, the path forward is simple: persistence.
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. We’re going to face really big problems, and the only way to come up with those solutions is one day at a time… one project at a time… one decision at a time,” Strickland said.
