By Carolina Baldin, Energy News Network

Editor’s note: Interviews with Alexis Massol González, Alberto Colón, and Rómulo Ortiz were conducted in Spanish. Their quotations and those from the Energy Bureau hearings were translated to English by the reporter, Carolina Baldin. 

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The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $1 billion to develop solar energy in Puerto Rico, to help the island meet its goal of 100% renewables and to add resilience to a system plagued by hurricane damage, poor maintenance and debilitating blackouts. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has visited the island multiple times, and the department has promised additional funding for renewables once an in-depth study is completed.

Community leaders who have long pushed for solar are hopeful. But they are adamant that the funding must prioritize community-driven, decentralized rooftop solar. They don’t want to see more solar farms, which they say can damage land and continue reliance on shipping power across the island; and they are skeptical of the role of LUMA, the company that runs Puerto Rico’s grid since it was privatized in June 2021.

On March 18, Casa Pueblo, a prominent community organization in the mountain town of Adjuntas, will inaugurate “Adjuntas Pueblo Solar,” an independent solar project that will supply 20 businesses with solar energy. The inauguration will coincide with Casa Pueblo’s “Marcha del Sol: Puerto Rico Triunfa,” where residents and national and international groups will gather for cultural activities and typical Puerto Rican food. 

Clean energy advocates see Casa Pueblo’s work including Adjuntas Pueblo Solar as an island-wide model, allowing communities energy independence and the ability to decide what solar projects work best in their own areas, including with the new funding.

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On Feb. 21, the Department of Energy released a formal request for information regarding the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund, through which the department will manage the $1 billion.

The request came days after contentious hearings in the capital, San Juan, regarding LUMA Energy’s performance in managing the grid, and new metrics the company must meet, including on the interconnection of solar. The hearings revealed shortcomings in LUMA’s ability to administer and maintain the grid.

In the request for comments, open through April 21, the Department of Energy says it wants to hear from “industry, community-based organizations, federal and state government agencies, state and local coalitions, research institutions, and other stakeholders.” 

The department has said funding for solar will roll out as soon as this summer, prioritizing “vulnerable households and households that include individuals with disabilities.”

The funding will be administered through the newly formed Energy Resilience Fund, which is managed by the department’s Grid Deployment Office in consultation with the Federal Energy Management Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A second round of funding will focus on energy resilience solutions like microgrids and community solar, similar to what Casa Pueblo did at Adjuntas Pueblo Solar.

“There are many eyes on this project,” said Alexis Massol González, founder of Casa Pueblo. “This is a top-notch model. … We Puerto Ricans are proud of having a project like this. May the Department of Energy come and study it.”

A larger plan for energy resilience

The Department of Energy will start allocating the energy resilience funding while also continuing an ongoing study, known as the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study, or PR100. That study is scheduled for release in December 2023, and the department has promised that based on the results additional funding will be allocated.

A PR100 progress report released after its first year calls for widespread installation of rooftop solar panels in Puerto Rico, to provide decentralized energy and make people less reliant on the troubled grid, including high-voltage transmission wires that send energy from power plants on the south coast to population centers in the north.

Disseminating information about this study was one of the goals of Granholm’s visit in early February. She met with residents and local leaders in Salinas, Vieques, Culebra, and Loíza — communities hit hard by hurricanes, disinvestment, and pollution from fossil fuel power plants and waste. 

“I noticed that she was ver