Puerto Rico energy plan introduces MiniGrids to avoid repeat of Hurricane Maria
Puerto Rico's electric utility on June 7 unveiled its highly-anticipated integrated resource plan, sketching out a 20-year campaign to modernize and reimagine the island's grid, including installing almost 1.4 GW of solar generation and 920 MW of battery storage in the first four years of the overhaul, from 2019 to 2022.
- Puerto Rico's electric utility on June 7 unveiled its highly-anticipated integrated resource plan, sketching out a 20-year campaign to modernize and reimagine the island's grid, including installing almost 1.4 GW of solar generation and 920 MW of battery storage in the first four years of the overhaul, from 2019 to 2022.
- Hurricane Maria destroyed the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's (PREPA) utility grid in 2017, leaving 1.5 million residents without power for months. While the aging grid has been restored, the island is now considering how to reach 100% renewable energy by 2050.
- Prepa's IRP, developed by the strategic advisory and technical consulting arm of engineering giant Siemens, focuses on adding distributed resources and hardening the transmission and distribution grid, breaking down the island's system into "eight largely self-sufficient electric islands" called MiniGrids.
