PRMA, Borrego Solar to co-host commercial solar development seminar
Borrego Solar has an extensive list of photovoltaic solar projects in the U.S. and will soon build one in Puerto Rico.
Borrego Solar Systems Inc., a designer, installer and financier of grid-tied solar photovoltaic systems, announced Wednesday it will be co-hosting a breakfast seminar with the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association on commercial solar development in Puerto Rico on May 1.
The seminar will outline how business owners can familiarize themselves with Puerto Rico’s solar market and obtain additional savings by learning how to evaluate, finance and execute commercial-scale solar projects, the company said.
This event follows the government of Puerto Rico’s passing of a series of laws to facilitate the development of renewable energy resources in Puerto Rico, in a concerted effort to meet the challenges of the island’s high energy costs and associated dependence on fossil fuels for more than 70 percent of its electricity generation.
Under these laws, which include a “Renewable Portfolio Standard” requirement for the government-owned corporation responsible for electricity generation in Puerto Rico, businesses in Puerto Rico can install photovoltaic systems of up to 5 MW (alternating current) in scale, under net metering legislation passed in Law 114 (2007) and Law 211 (2008, expanded in 2012).
The seminar will assemble energy industry representatives, government agency administrators and other industry leaders to discuss the current state of commercial-scale solar in Puerto Rico, and to review the different opportunities for businesses on the island.
Attendees will gain knowledge of what to look for when evaluating a solar project and how they can be financed, developed, constructed and interconnected. Solar professionals and industry experts will be available during and after the seminar to answer questions from attendees regarding any aspect of PV project development in Puerto Rico.
Among other themes, speakers will: identify regulations and incentive programs that make solar viable for commercial operation in Puerto Rico; discuss best practices for conducting a technical and economic feasibility analysis of a potential solar project; outline the process for engineering, permitting and constructing a solar project; and define and compare the benefits of each project financing and procurement option available to businesses installing solar photovoltaic projects in Puerto Rico
“Puerto Rico has rapidly become a hot market for solar, with high energy costs, governmental incentives and rebates and lots of sun, so commercial businesses are more interested than ever in going solar,” said Juan Rodríguez, senior project manager at Borrego Solar.
“This seminar will be a great opportunity for Puerto Rican businesses to learn how to take advantage of the opportunities and benefits available, as we’ll cover the entire commercial-scale solar development process from start to finish,” he said.
The seminar will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the PRMA’s headquarters in Guaynabo. To register to attend the breakfast seminar and/or view the full agenda, please visit: www.eventbrite.com/event/5761413543.
