Project Marahu includes two solar-plus-storage facilities on the southern coast of Puerto Rico in Guayama and Salinas. Coal plants in Guayama have been linked to severe environmental and health issues, including air and water pollution, which have disproportionately affected nearby communities like Salinas, leading to concerns about toxic coal ash exposure.
(Generated by Jillian Melero via DallE ∙ Oct. 22, 2024 at 4:58 p.m.)
As Puerto Rico’s gubernatorial election and the U.S. presidential election draw near, Puerto Rico’s political leadership, allies, and energy futures are trending topics of conversation among local and federal candidates and campaigns.
Around mid October, the U.S. Department of Energy approved an $861 million loan guarantee for Puerto Rico’s largest solar and battery storage project to date, but it also raises questions about local control over energy policy.
Earlier in the month, a judge extended the litigation stay in the bankruptcy case of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), providing more time for negotiations but further delaying much needed investments in renewable energy and grid modernization.
And last week, Power 4 Puerto Rico, a coalition of advocacy organizations, hosted its first “Boricua Town Hall” focused on the impacts of local and national elections, and the power of diaspora voters in the U.S. to sway policy and demand accountability on behalf of Puerto Rico.
Let’s get into it.
$861M DOE Loan Funds Project Marahu
News: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized an $861 million loan guarantee for Project Marahu, set to become Puerto Rico's largest utility-scale solar and battery storage installation.
The loan guarantee was finalized on Oct. 16. Project Marahu will be Puerto Rico's largest utility-scale solar and battery storage project to date. The project aims to diversify and stabilize Puerto Rico's grid, which currently relies on fossil fuels for over 90% of its electricity. Marahu is expected to generate around 750 construction jobs and more than 50 full-time jobs once fully operational. The project is projected to reduce carbon emissions by 2.7 million tons according to the DOE.
Project Marahu includes two solar-plus-storage facilities on the southern coast in Guayama and Salinas; 200 MW of solar generation capacity total, capable of powering 43,000 homes; and two standalone battery energy storage systems totaling up to 285 MW of storage capacity.
The project will be led by Clean Flexible Energy LLC, a subsidiary of AES Corp. and TotalEnergies Holdings USA. It is expected to come online in 2025.
Context: Guayama has been at the center of debates surrounding the AES coal-fired power plant located there. The plant has faced criticism and legal challenges due to concerns about coal ash disposal and its potential environmental impact, health effects on nearby communities; and compliance with environmental regulations. Salinas is known for its agricultural production so farming, water resources, and land use are areas of concern when it comes to energy projects.
Energy News Network: In Puerto Rico, residents wait for accountability, cleanup of toxic coal ash ‘caminos blancos’ (Oct. 2023)
Puerto Rico aims to phase out coal by 2028 and reach 100% renewable energy by 2050. Right now, renewables make up just 6% of the island's electricity. While this DOE funding of Marahu is a step forward for Puerto Rico's renewable energy goals, it also raises questions about local control over energy policy.
Many local residents and activists are advocating strongly for rooftop solar rather than large utility-scale projects. Organizations have been working to install rooftop solar systems for low-income and vulnerable residents. Residents see rooftop solar as providing more energy independence and resilience, especially during blackouts and after storms.
Inside Climate News: A Puerto Rico Community Pushes for Rooftop Solar as Fossil-Fuel Plants Face Retirement (May 2024)
You may have heard that Puerto Rico's grid has been fragile and unreliable, especially after hurricanes but even without them. So improving the reliability of electricity throughout the archipelago is a top priority. Rooftop solar has been leading the charge on renewable growth so far, and many experts believe it will continue to dominate. That's partly because land for large projects is limited, and the infrastructure to move electricity across long distances isn't where we need it to be yet.
Canary Media: Puerto Rico's solar boom (bilingual, June 2022 - March 2023)
PREPA Bankruptcy, Litigation Freeze Extended
A U.S. District Court Judge has extended the stay on litigation in the ongoing bankruptcy process of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority.
(Generated by Jillian Melero via DallE ∙ Oct. 22, 2024 at 5:36 p.m.)
News: Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority (PREPA), continues its complex bankruptcy process, now in its seventh year. U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain has extended a stay on litigation until Nov. 13, allowing more time for negotiations between PREPA and its bondholders.
PREPA aims to reduce $10 billion in debt through this bankruptcy. A recent appeals court ruling set bondholders' claims at $8.5 billion, significantly higher than the $2.4 billion limit previously established. This decision strengthens the bondholders' position in negotiations.
The Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), which manages PREPA's bankruptcy, has requested a rehearing of this ruling. This move underscores the ongoing tension between debt reduction efforts and bondholders' interests.
Context: PREPA's debt restructuring is crucial for Puerto Rico's energy future. Resolving this issue could unlock investments in renewable energy and grid modernization, enhancing the island's energy resilience and sustainability. However, balancing debt repayment with these necessary improvements remains a challenge.
The FOMB, established under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) in 2016, plays a pivotal role in this process. While it has broad powers over Puerto Rico's fiscal matters, its approach has been controversial, with critics arguing it prioritizes debt repayment over local needs.
The Power of the Puerto Rican Vote
Puerto Ricans on the island can’t vote in U.S. presidential elections but vote in local ones, while the diaspora can sway national elections, creating a dynamic where policies affecting the island are shaped by voters on and off it.
(Generated by Jillian Melero via DallE ∙ Oct. 22, 2024 at 4:26 p.m.)
Power 4 Puerto Rico is a coalition of organizations advocating for the well-being, reconstruction, and development of Puerto Rico. It was established in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017 to address the humanitarian crisis and promote long-term solutions for Puerto Rico. The coalition focuses on various issues, including disaster recovery, economic development, energy reform, and social justice.
News: Wednesday Oct. 16, P4PR held a virtual “Boricua Town Hall” with experts on Puerto Rican demographics and voter power in the United States, to discuss issues concerning Puerto Ricans in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico as we near the U.S. presidential election and Puerto Rico’s gubernatorial election.
Guests included Dr. Carlos Vargas Ramos, Director of Policy at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College; Karen Rodríguez from the Pennsylvania-based People for Puerto Rico; Maria Quiñones-Sánchez who served as a member of the Philadelphia City Council representing the 7th district; and Mariposa María Teresa Fernández, award-winning Afro Puerto Rican poet, spoken word performance artist, visual artist, educator, activist, scholar and Bronx native; among others.
At a few points throughout the town hall, guests and moderators fielded a couple of questions about how the upcoming elections may affect the future of LUMA Energy, Genera PR, and New Fortress Energy in Puerto Rico. I’ve highlighted a bit of that below. The answers have been edited for clarity.
Q: How do elections affect LUMA energy staying or going in Puerto Rico?
Aliana Coello Exclusa, program strategist at La Tejedora:
All of the political parties and gubernatorial candidates are talking about LUMA. That’s because of the major discontent with the grid system. So all the parties, kind of in unison — some out of genuine concern, and some out of concern more for acquisition of power — have either changed their position or affirmed their position that LUMA should go.
What we don’t necessarily have [answers for] is what happens after LUMA leaves? So that is the hard question that we want Puerto Ricans to be able to ask these candidates, and we’re pushing to educate voters to really think critically about that right now.
Federico de Jesus, political analyst, founder FDJ Solutions:
This isn’t just a local story about a utility in Puerto Rico, this is intimately tied to how the diaspora views this issue.
Remember that because of the hurricane, Puerto Rico has received $18 billion to rebuild the electricity grid, in U.S. taxpayer money that we send to Puerto Rico, and they’ve only used $1.3 billion.
And this private company managing the public transmission and distribution lines that has been so inefficient, that has increased power outages, that has actually brought in workers from Florida that don’t know Spanish, that don’t know about the tropical vegetation or how to fix a grid in a Caribbean climate, they’re really botching this issue.
But we also have Genera (PR) which is the private company managing the generation with fossil fuels. And they want to bring in more natural gas to Puerto Rico because the company that owns them — New Fortress Energy — is a natural gas company. Puerto Rico is an island, so bringing in natural gas every time we need it is expensive.
These are complicated issues, so we need to elect leaders in the U.S. that are friends of Puerto Rico, that respond to diaspora voters, that can help oversee the $18 billion in mostly unused federal funding for Puerto Rico and hold LUMA accountable.
We need more than just the leadership in Puerto Rico to say ‘LUMA leaves,’ because the fiscal control board of Puerto Rico may block that decision. Unless we have a friendly Congress and President that will hold them accountable, this issue won’t be solved.
Context: Congressmembers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress, have called for the removal of the FOMB and the replacement of LUMA Energy. LUMA’s critics (which are many) argue that despite promises of improved service, the company has struggled with frequent outages, high electricity costs, and slow disaster recovery efforts, leading to widespread public dissatisfaction and protests.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Velázquez have also endorsed candidates from “La Alianza,” a coalition between the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP) and the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), for Puerto Rico's upcoming gubernatorial election. They publicly supported Juan Dalmau for governor, along with Ana Irma Rivera Lassén for Resident Commissioner and Manuel Natal for mayor of San Juan.
The Latino Newsletter: Velázquez and AOC Challenge Puerto Rico’s Colonial Party Duopoly
Ocasio-Cortez has emphasized the need to address misinformation, particularly around claims that electing Dalmau would jeopardize federal aid programs. She criticized the use of fear tactics to sway voters and stressed the importance of voting based on facts. This marks the first time she has endorsed local candidates on the island.
Velázquez, who has historically supported more traditional candidates, expressed that this election is about breaking the cycle of ineffective leadership from the island's two dominant parties, Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and the pro-Commonwealth Partido Popular Democrático (PPD).
In Case You Missed It
On the same day that we launched last month, our friends at fellow science newsletter Important, Not Important ran an essay I wrote about Puerto Rico, hurricanes, and the need to invest in infrastructure that can prevent losses from disasters of the natural or manmade kind.
Important, Not Important: An Ongoing Power Struggle
You Ask, We Answer
Do you have a question about Puerto Rico or renewable energy that you want answered? Let us know! Send your questions to [email protected] with the subject line “Community Question” and we may answer your question in an upcoming newsletter.
