(Photo: Hurricane Maria’s destruction near Utuado, Puerto Rico, shown in October 2017. Credit: Eric D. Woodall, Coast Guard News, Flickr Creative Commons)[/caption]
A joint public-private effort is investing $4.5 million in solar development for Puerto Rico to help the island recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The new Puerto Rican Solar Business Accelerator aims to provide business assistance and workforce development for Puerto Rican solar and construction companies.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Solar Foundation, and PathStone Corporation are spearheading the program with support from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA). Specifically, the EDA offered $3.8 million to train and place workers in solar plus storage and construction.
“The multi-disciplinary program will increase economic resiliency in Puerto Rico with training and technical assistance for locally owned and operated businesses to help them increase operating efficiencies and to participate fully in major post-Maria reconstruction efforts,” according to the participants.
“Since Hurricane Maria, we have worked in partnership with local installers to bring solar and storage to critical locations in Puerto Rico,” said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director at the Solar Foundation, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit focused on advancing the use of solar and solar-compatible technologies worldwide.
As part of the effort, the Puerto Rican Solar Business Accelerator will work closely with local solar companies on to improve financing, support a “robust” workforce pipeline, share consumer protection information, and develop two solar plus storage microgrid demonstration pilot projects, the program participants said.
Over the summer, a Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) plan prepared by Siemens Power Technologies International covering a 20-year timeframe called for electrical islands called MiniGrids.
“The business case for transforming the grid architecture is straightforward: it provides the least cost approach to achieve resilience against major hurricanes, meet and exceed compliance with the renewable portfolio standard, engage customers, and lower cost,” the Siemens report said at the time.
Despite the urgent need to rebuild Puerto Rico’s system, the report recognized ongoing uncertainty around PREPA’s future — and that of the island itself.
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