Inspenet, April 5, 2023
The head of Energy of the United States , Jennifer Granholm, visited the island and highlighted the progress made regarding the number of projects approved and under construction for the modernization and recovery of the vulnerable electrical network of Puerto Rico.
“We have a lot of work to do, but the process is moving forward,” he stressed at a press conference at the end of his visit, adding that there were 44 projects approved in September and 116 in March.
Together with the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, the secretary also indicated that the number of initiatives under construction to improve the electrical network has gone from 29 to 43 in the same period.
Destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico’s power grid remains very fragile, causing frequent blackouts and has led to a boom in solar panel installation.
Pierluisi highlighted that, thanks to the new grant from the Federal Department of Energy, the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3) presented a plan for the use of 3.7 million dollars, which will be available for five years under the program prevention of electrical interruptions.
“We have identified organizations and entities in different parts of the island, including our mountainous area, that have projects already advanced and need financial support to complete the development of the microgrids,” he added.
In this sense, the governor explained that the microgrid project for the islands of Vieques and Culebra will consist of 12.5 megawatts and three, respectively.
“The Vieques and Culebra microgrids will involve the modernization of existing generation, improvements to the energy transmission and distribution infrastructure, and the construction of two photovoltaic microgrids with battery systems to provide all the electricity the islands need,” he specified.
In addition, Pierluisi announced a collaborative agreement to develop a short- and long-term project that seeks to promote the use of electric vehicles on the municipal islands.
The governor concluded the press conference by assuring that he hopes that for this year the island will have “close to 2,000 extra megawatts that come from renewable energy.”
Photo: ShutterStock
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