Johansson hopes to continue distributing solar power roofs and battery storage to the remaining 77 fire stations on the island, he says.īut the push to go solar has largely been left to the hands of these nonprofits, or in many cases, individuals themselves, rather than the government. ![]() It’s not their role to figure out the power situation,” says Hunter Johansson, founder of Solar Responders. “When a storm comes and the power goes out, first responders are in saving mode. They’ve helped install renewable energy in nearly 20% of the fire stations in Puerto Rico. Nonprofits like Solar Responders have worked to install solar panels in fire stations on the island to ensure first responders are able to continue their work when the electric grid fails. “Energy independence is essential for people if there is another emergency.”īut the group is not alone in its efforts. “I wanted to offer communities the possibility of enjoying sustainable and renewable energy,” Miranda explained in a Duolingo podcast episode earlier this year. They’ve personally been operating their base on solar energy since 1999.Īda Ramona Miranda has assisted the Casa Pueblo team with installing solar roofs for over 20 businesses so that they don’t have to rely on the expensive, fragile electrical grid. In the last few years, they have installed solar energy systems in over 100 hundred homes and over 30 businesses in the Adjuntas, a mountainous town in the center of the island. with the most home solar installation per-capita, coming in 9th ahead of Colorado (as well as Washington D.C., and New Jersey which sit just outside the top 10).Ĭasa Pueblo, run by local community organizers, has been at the forefront of Puerto Rico’s solar transition. Already, Puerto Rico is among the top ten places in the U.S. A preliminary study from the National Lab of Renewable Energy’s PR100 program found that Puerto Rico could produce over four times the amount of energy it needs from rooftop solar power thanks to how much sunlight the island is exposed to. Puerto Rico is well placed for a transition to solar power. “The surest path to lowering rates and stabilizing the finances of the electrical system is to end Puerto Rico’s dependence on fossil fuels,” writes Tom Sanzillo, the director of financial analysis for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. According to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, solar panels have just a 0.05% failure rate when it comes to reliability and lifespan. But the company’s push towards building clean energy microgrids suffered from “supply shortages, regulatory hurdles and a lack of long-term planning,” according to HuffPost.ĭespite Tesla’s failed efforts, many continue to argue that switching to solar power is the strongest option moving forward. Tesla soon began distributing resources, including sending solar panels and energy storage batteries to necessary hospitals. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in 2017 that he could rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid with solar power technology. There have been other efforts to transition the grid in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. LUMA has blamed both those problems on years of underinvestment and neglect by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which managed electric infrastructure before the private company took over last year. Protesters say LUMA has failed to stop regular power outages in Puerto Rico, and that they are paying far higher energy bills than other U.S. Puerto Rican residents and celebrities have been protesting against the privatization for months, calling for an early termination of LUMA’s 15 year contract. and Canadian companies, to take charge of improvements to the electric grid. Last year, authorities in the territory hired LUMA Energy, a joint venture by two U.S. The damage wrought by Fiona will likely worsen anger in Puerto Rico at that slow progress. ![]() Only 21% of post-storm projects have been completed by the government, and more than 3,600 homes still had makeshift blue tarps as roofs going into the latest hurricane, according to the Associated Press. ![]() Now years later, the island’s recovery remains incomplete. Hurricane Fiona comes exactly at the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, one of the deadliest Puerto Rican natural disasters that lead to the largest blackout in U.S.
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