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...]
Solar Plus Storage Microgrids Bring Relief to Puerto Rico — And Hint of the Future
Is a Network of Minigrids the Answer for Puerto Rico?
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
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
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
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 … [Read more...]
Looking to Puerto Rico’s Long-term Power Needs
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...]