After the catastrophe caused by 2017’s Hurricane Maria, many Puerto Ricans were left without electricity for months. Now, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has put forward a plan to radically reform electricity access on the Caribbean island.
The latest draft of the integrated resource plan (IRP) has been greeted with mixed reactions by environmentalists and clean energy advocates. Like many Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico has long depended on electricity generated from imported fossil fuels. The new plan has a heavy emphasis on utility-owned solar energy with battery storage but also involves constructing three new terminals for the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be burned to generate electricity.
The Sierra Club de Puerto Rico has celebrated the movement towards renewable energy, although the organization remains vociferously against the planned privatization of PREPA. The NGO’s Environmental Justice Organizer, Adriana Gonzales, is blunt about the problems facing Puerto Rico.
In a recent Sierra Club statement on the IRP, Gonzales notes that “during Hurricane Maria hundreds of people died simply because they couldn’t keep their insulin refrigerated, or their oxygen machines running. We need the solar and storage in this plan so we can protect health and safety through the next hurricane with distributed, reliable energy infrastructure. I’m also proud to see my island taking the lead in addressing the climate crisis. Puerto Rico, a small island burdened by punitive debt obligations, could soon be leading the U.S. in the adoption of new solar technology.”
What’s Next For Puerto Rico?
In the IRP, PREPA lays out the future development and recovery of the islands’ electricity grid for the next 20 years. The move should allow for the better allocation of resources and for the utility to improve its service to the public. In addition, it notes what factors may impact the future supply of electricity such as new regulations, physical assets, and risks from natural disasters.
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