Hurricane Maria caused a lot of damage in Puerto Rico. It left the island’s power grid decimated and thus caused the longest blackout in the country’s history. Many parts of the island were without power for almost a year. There’s an inclination now towards adopting more resilient and sustainable ways of powering Puerto Rico. Lawmakers are considering a shift to 100 percent renewable energy for the island.
The Puerto Rico House and Senate held a joint hearing earlier this week to debate a bill which if signed into law would shift the island to 100 percent renewable energy. The bill aims to have 20 percent of the energy requirement met by renewables come 2025, 50 percent by 2040, and 100 percent by 2050.
There’s plenty of sunshine and wind on the island so these natural sources can be used to sustainably produce electricity. The grid was unreliable even before the hurricane and power costs high due to the expensive endeavor of importing fuel to the island.
The bill has also been designed to support consumers who install solar systems on their houses and can sell the excess power they generate to the grid and their neighbors. There’s reportedly broad consensus across the political spectrum about this so Puerto Rico could hopefully solve its energy woes going forward.
Filed in .. Source: fastcompany