5 Puerto Rico communities inaugurate Energy Resilience Hubs
Each will own, operate and maintain its solar and storage facility.
Five Puerto Rico communities have announced new solar and storage installations that will ensure reliable access to electricity during and after natural disasters, while helping Puerto Rico advance toward a resilient and sustainable future.
The five new installations, known as Energy Resilience Hubs, are located in vulnerable communities that have historically lacked access to reliable electricity. The solar and storage facilities will provide backup power to community centers that offer essential services to residents during emergencies or long-term outages.
The five communities where the Resilience Hubs are located include Calabazas Arriba, Yabucoa; La Calle Abajo y Sus Vecinos, Lajas; Cubuy, Canóvanas (under construction); Guayabota, Yabucoa; and Villa Esperanza, Toa Alta.
The Energy Resilience Hubs were developed in partnership between the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), a national nonprofit organization that supports the rapid adoption of clean energy, and the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (known as RUM in Spanish).
Funding was provided through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Justice and Equity.
For each of the Resilience Hubs, “IREC engaged with community leaders through extensive workshops and other coordination efforts to ensure the installations met local needs and priorities,” the organization stated.
Upon completion of the cooperative agreement, each community will own, operate and maintain its solar and storage facility.
“We’re proud to be a part of Puerto Rico’s energy transformation by working directly with these communities to advance renewable energy solutions,” said Carlos Alberto Velázquez, Puerto Rico Program director at IREC.
“The new solar and storage facilities will provide reliable electricity access to some of Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities, including Yabucoa, which was in the direct path of Hurricane Maria in 2017,” Velázquez added.
“Our collaborative approach to developing these Resilience Hubs helps bring direct capacity building to communities and can be leveraged to help Puerto Rico to meet its goal of 100% renewable electricity,” he noted.
The solar and storage installations were developed by local solar installer GenERA. Four of the five installations have been completed and are now in operation, while a fifth is under construction and will be completed later this month.
Looking ahead, IREC will be working with five additional communities to develop more Resilience Hubs.
