Eight months on from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, the 3,160 inhabitants of Puerto Rico's mountainous Mariana remain without grid power. Tired of waiting, community members recently took matters into their own hands with the help of a modular microgrid. Following major damage, experts believe that 90 percent of the grid can be restored … [Read more...]
Army Corps Mobile Microgrid App Improves Power Restoration on Puerto Rico
April 6, 2018 By
The US Army Corps of Engineers' Recovery Field Office in Puerto Rico is hastening grid restoration efforts with the help of a new microgrid app to site and manage installations. *Credit: US Army Corpos of Engineers Developed in-house, the microgrid app enhances the ability of field staff to site, commission and decommission mobile … [Read more...]
Solar Plus Storage Microgrids Bring Relief to Puerto Rico — And Hint of the Future
February 27, 2018 By
At the tail end of installing 15 solar plus storage microgrids across Puerto Rico -- all of the work charitable -- Sonnen and Pura Energia are providing humanitarian relief and a hint of the energy model the island could become. The latest installation, for a school in the mountain town of Orocovis, comes as over 14 percent of Puerto Ricans … [Read more...]
Puerto Rico – Pioneer in Microgrids
December 13, 2017 By
Mahesh Bhave, of BHAVE Power Systems, says that the entire world stands to benefit as Puerto Rico gives full policy attention to microgrids and confronts fundamental questions about electricity policy. The Puerto Rico Energy Commission deserves praise for raising the right and important questions about the future of electricity on the … [Read more...]
Is a Network of Minigrids the Answer for Puerto Rico?
December 8, 2017 By
AES has proposed that Puerto Rico consider a redesign of its grid into a network of regional minigrids powered by up to 10,000 MW of solar and 2,500 MW of battery storage. The Virginia-based global energy company recently put forward the idea in response to an inquiry underway at the Puerto Rico Energy Commission. The commission is seeking … [Read more...]
Sonnen Creates Foundation to Further Puerto Rico’s Microgrid Effort
December 1, 2017 By
German company sonnen has established the Foundation for Energy Security to bring more microgrids to Puerto Rico, as the island rebuilds from Hurricane Maria's crushing blow. Sonnen is installing community microgrids with island partner Pura Energia. Four microgrids already are operating using sonnen's solar plus storage technology known as … [Read more...]
U.S. DOE Identifies 200 Potential Microgrid Sites in Puerto Rico
November 27, 2017 By
The U.S. Department of Energy has identified 200 potential microgrid sites in Puerto Rico, as part of an effort to rebuild and modernize the island’s devastated electricity system. Bruce Walker, assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, described the microgrid sites in a blog he posted last week on … [Read more...]
Puerto Rico Energy Commission Opens Docket on Microgrids and Distributed Generation
November 17, 2017 By
Puerto Rico’s energy commission has opened a docket to investigate ways to encourage microgrids and distributed generation to build an energy system with more fortitude against hurricanes. Island officials described the docket this week in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Half of the island’s population … [Read more...]
Looking to Puerto Rico’s Long-term Power Needs
October 31, 2017 By
In this edition of Industry Perspectives, Troy Miller, director of grid solutions at S&C Electric Company, explores how microgrids could help solve Puerto Rico's long-term power needs. Over the last few weeks, the state of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid has been on everyone’s mind in the power industry. Getting Puerto Rico back online … [Read more...]
