Climate Changed
Solar's Courting Puerto Rico, and the Ravaged Island Is All Ears
- Industry is coordinating with disaster-relief organizations
- Sector has chance to show batteries, solar keep lights on
Puerto Rico Risks Shutdown Awaiting Hurricane Funds
This article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. solar industry is about to airlift rooftop panels and batteries to Puerto Rico, where more than 90 percent of homes and businesses remain without electricity after Hurricane Maria destroyed the grid. The first plane of supplies is set to leave this week.
It’s primarily a humanitarian effort, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. But it’s also a chance for the industry to showcase what it can offer that conventional power plants and grids can’t: an energy source capable of weathering natural disasters. And Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello, leader of an island wrecked by back-to-back storms, is all ears.