Greetings to my blog readers! As a solar enthusiast and expert, I’m thrilled to bring you some exciting news from Puerto Rico. The sunny Caribbean region has made some impressive advancements in the solar world, becoming a model for solar companies aspiring to make a difference and offer key solutions for renewable energy. It’s a prime example of taking strides in maximizing the use of solar panels for your home.
To date, Puerto Rico boasts 1.6 GWh of residential-sited batteries, with repeated references to it being the “largest untapped virtual power plant” globally. These advancements wouldn’t be possible without the combined efforts of Puerto Rico’s “professional, well-informed” transmission and distribution utility, the private sector, and “a good regulator.”
In addition to this, the area houses 680 MW of distributed solar according to a U.S. Department of Energy study – that’s triple the amount from two years ago. This rapid growth has instilled a sense of optimism in solar companies and homeowners alike, signifying that implementing a solar array for home use is not only feasible but also dramatically impactful.
An intriguing shift is occurring as well. Puerto Rico is seeing an upsurge in rooftop solar systems installations, with an average attachment rate of 100% and around 1.2 batteries per system. This growing storage capacity promises to address hosting capacity concerns at the distribution level. Furthermore, the newly launched battery emergency demand response program has unveiled the first virtual power plant in Latin America and the Caribbean.
But aspirations don’t stop there. There’s an intention to move towards a future where Puerto Rico harnesses 100% renewable energy by 2050. These ambitious benchmarks might seem lofty, but their inclusion in Puerto Rico’s Act 17, enacted in 2019, necessitates urgent action towards an increasingly green future. While discrepancies on the exact percentage of renewables in Puerto Rico’s grid exist, there’s general agreement on the urgent need to scale up.
In a bid to make this happen, long-term utility-scale solar and storage procurements have been initiated. Although these plans are still in their teething stages, there’s undeniable optimism as some projects within these procurements seem “favorable to succeed.” There’s anticipation that the success of these projects will have an instructive effect on additional procurements.
Internationally regarded reports, like those by nonprofit groups Cambio and IEEFA, corroborate the promise that solar holds for Puerto Rico, arguing that rooftop solar and storage could supply 75% of its power. Their recommendation is that the significant FEMA funds designated for Puerto Rico’s grid reconstruction prioritize distributed solar and storage investment.
I’ll continue to keep you, my readers, updated on Puerto Rico’s journey to a green future and the interesting ways solar panels for your home can pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable world. Stay tuned – the final study on how Puerto Rico can feasibly achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050 is set to be released soon!
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/02/14/puerto-rico-distributed-solar-climbs-to-680-mw-residential-storage-to-1-6-gwh/
