Dive Brief:
- The installation of thousands of residential solar+storage systems backed by U.S. Department of Energy funding is underway in Puerto Rico, a senior agency official said Monday. The Solar Access Program, funded through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund, aims to incentivize the installation of up to 30,000 of the systems for low-income households facing frequent power outages or with a medical condition or disability that depends on electricity.
- Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will be in Puerto Rico Wednesday and Thursday to visit with homeowners who have received the first installations, and to make an announcement on the Biden administration’s rural energy investments, the agency said.
- DOE has been tracking power outages in Puerto Rico, in particular a blackout that left more than 340,000 customers in the dark during a June heat wave, the senior official said. “The recovery and modernization of Puerto Rico's grid has been a top priority for this administration, and DOE will continue to act with the urgency that Puerto Ricans deserve,” they said.
Dive Insight:
It has been seven years since Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s energy system, necessitating a full rebuild and leading to billions in Federal Emergency Management Agency project funds and a plan to modernize and decarbonize the island’s energy system.
LUMA Energy, which operates the electric grid in Puerto Rico, said it has made significant upgrades since taking over operations through a public-private partnership in 2021, including installing stronger utility poles, modernizing substations, clearing hazardous vegetation and deploying automation devices.
Despite those efforts, “the energy system remains fragile compared to other modern systems,” Juan Saca, LUMA president and CEO, said in a statement regarding Hurricane Beryl preparations this month.
DOE does not have authority to respond to power outages that have not been declared a national emergency, but the agency is working on long-term solutions, agency officials said.
DOE’s Solar Access Program has received thousands of applications from Puerto Ricans and the agency said it expects to deploy more than 3,000 residential systems by the end of the year, officials said. There is zero upfront cost, though households receiving a system may be responsible for a monthly maintenance payment between $10 and $45.
Puerto Rico can meet 100% of its projected electricity needs with renewable energy by 2050, in compliance with the territory’s Act 17 law, the agency concluded in a two-year study published in February. In the near-term, the study found about 400 MW of new capacity is needed to stabilize the island’s electric grid and address current generation shortfalls. Both utility-scale and distributed renewable resources are required, along with significant amounts of energy storage, the report said.
DOE is “working directly with renewable energy developers” that are participating in the island’s renewable energy procurement process to leverage the infrastructure reinvestment category of the Title 17 clean energy financing program in order “for them to access federally-backed loans to finance new utility-scale generation projects so that we can increase Puerto Rico's renewable generation capacity and bring more stability to Puerto Rico's grid,” the senior agency official said.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of systems the Solar Access Program could support. It could account for up to 30,000 of a total 40,000 solar + battery systems incentivized by the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund.
