The PR100 study, a two-year federal government research project, has found that Puerto Rico has more potential for renewable energy than it needs to reach its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. The study's report, released on Monday, revealed that many residents prefer “distributed energy” such as rooftop solar panels.
“We were able to prove that these systems are resilient to hurricane winds, and they can provide pretty fast power, within hours after a storm,” says Agustín Carbó, Director of the Department of Energy's Puerto Rico Grid Modernization and Recovery Team. He says the current system of fewer, centralized and larger power plants takes longer to restore electricity across the island, especially in remote and mountainous regions.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the DOE, with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is studying options to transition Puerto Rico to 100% renewable energy by 2050, with the goal of building a more resilient electricity system that can withstand future storms, which are expected to be bigger and more powerful due to climate change. The plan includes transitioning away from imported fossil fuels and making electricity more affordable by installing rooftop solar combined with battery storage, with four different scenarios modeled to meet Puerto Rico's targets. These include installing distributed energy on buildings, focusing on critical services, prioritizing deployment in remote and low-to-moderate income households, and installing solar panels on as many rooftops as possible. The study is expected to be completed by the end of this year, and the authors say that the island needs more utility-scale electricity generation even before all those solar panels can be installed.
“Significant additional generation capacity is obviously needed immediately to improve reliability, which is an issue that all of us in Puerto Rico have been struggling (with) after Hurricane Maria and Fiona,” says Carbó, who formerly chaired the Puerto Rico Energy Commission. He says fossil fuels will still be needed in the short-term while the island works to meet its 100% renewable goal.
“For far too long, Puerto Ricans have lived with an outdated and expensive electric system where needless obstacles and long delays have prevented critical improvements,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a written statement accompanying a progress report on the study.
In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused the collapse of Puerto Rico's power grid, resulting in the deaths of at least 3,000 residents. Despite the efforts of crews to restore power and rebuild transmission lines, the recovery process was slow and difficult. Following years of criticism and allegations of mismanagement and corruption at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the government privatized the company.
Recently, Hurricane Fiona once again caused widespread power outages on the island after bringing heavy rain. However, there is now widespread dissatisfaction with the private company, LUMA, which was awarded a $1.5 billion contract to operate the grid.
