The Biden-Harris administration has vowed for years to deploy thousands of solar panels to stabilize Puerto Rico's power grid amid frequent blackouts, government mismanagement and rising residential electricity prices. [emphasis, links added]
But years after that promise was made, only a handful of panels have been produced from a $1 billion core project. washington free beacon Already learned.
“We're talking about energy and solar power. That's where the power is, right there,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech in Puerto Rico earlier this year.
In her speech, Harris touted the so-called Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Fund, a $1 billion fund administered by the Department of Energy and designed by Democrats in 2022 to Quickly address vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico’s power grid by installing tens of thousands of rooftop solar and battery storage systems across the island.
As President Biden said in October 2022, the fund plays a central role in the administration’s plan to “transform the entire” Puerto Rico power grid.
Although the Department of Energy declined to disclose free beacon How many solar panels have been installed using project funds, Sunnova Energy—One of two U.S. solar companies to receive funding to oversee implementation of the program–admit So far, only “a small initial batch” of installations have been completed across the island.
Another company, Generac Holdings, declined to comment.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), one of the architects of the plan, said recently: The first solar installations were completed in mid-July, several months later than originally promised by the Department of Energy.
Grijalva helped get the program included in the 2023 government appropriations bill, which Biden signed into law in December 2022 after calling for more green energy funding for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.
“The island is in the midst of the worst of hurricane season and high temperatures. Families on the island struggle with power outages on a weekly and sometimes daily basis,” a solar industry expert with knowledge of the scheme's inner workings told The Sun free beacon. “We need to figure out how to act faster.”
The slow rollout of Puerto Rico’s Energy Resiliency Fund highlights the challenges facing the Biden-Harris administration as it tries to oversee an influx of billions in green energy funding across the country.
It further highlights the energy-related problems Puerto Ricans currently face — and the federal government still cannot fully solve them.
In recent years, Puerto Rico has been hit by several catastrophic storms and hurricanes, causing severe damage to the island and its electrical grid.
Democrats are trying to address this damage with green energy plans. at the same time, Residential electricity prices have soared, recently averaging 23.77 cents per kilowatt hourThe Associated Press reported last month that 44% higher than the U.S. average.
The program has received little media attention due to the Biden-Harris administration's decision not to provide an update on installation progress.
However, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and New York Democratic Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez traveled to San Juan on July 17 to promote the plan, but again, No information is shared about the number of installs that have occurred.
During the trip, Granholm met with a handful of residents who she said have benefited from the program and boasted that the funding was changing lives.
“The Department of Energy is focused on ensuring the successful deployment of the Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Fund, increasing energy resiliency and reducing the energy burden on Puerto Rican households,” an agency spokesperson said.
“From the beginning, [the program] Focus stakeholder and community priorities on increasing local energy resilience. The Department remains committed to working with all stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of solar and storage systems across Puerto Rico.“
The spokesman added that the Department of Energy has processed thousands of applications for the program and expects to complete at least 3,000 installations by the end of the year.
About seven months after the establishment of the Puerto Rico Energy Resiliency Fund, Energy Department officials announced that the agency would release $453 million of the $1 billion earmarked for the program.
Then, in November 2023, the agency announced its first winners: Sunnova, Generac and a number of smaller Puerto Rican companies. Sunnova and Generac will each receive $200 million to deploy solar systems.
According to the Biden-Harris administration, The systems are initially expected to be ready by spring 2024 and help “achieve Puerto Rico and President Biden’s goal of lowering energy costs through a resilient grid powered by 100% renewable energy.”
The funding is intended to ensure up to 40,000 solar and battery systems are installed on the island.
The photo above shows Kamala discussing federal aid and infrastructure upgrades during a visit to Puerto Rico. PBS NewsHour /YouTube Screenshot
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