The U.S. government has launched a new funding package to support residential solar and storage projects in Puerto Rico, followed by resiliency solutions such as microgrids, community solar and grid modernization.
The DOE’s Office of Grid Deployment issued a Request for Information (RFI) this week to gather feedback from Puerto Rico stakeholders on how to allocate the $1 billion managed through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF).
The government established the new fund to increase energy resilience and reduce the energy burden on the Caribbean island nation's vulnerable residents following recent years of hurricane damage and decades of underinvestment in the island's power grid. The investment is also consistent with Puerto Rico's public energy policy to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, and the U.S. government's commitment to improving the island's energy system.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in October 2022, President Biden visited the island, promising to leverage technical support from federal agencies to support improvements to Puerto Rico's power grid. Biden signed the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Act in December, which includes $1 billion in PR-ERF funding to drive critical investment in Puerto Rico's renewable and resilient energy infrastructure.
The PR-ERF package will be administered by the Office of Grid Deployment in consultation with the Federal Energy Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agency is soliciting information from Puerto Rico stakeholders on short- and long-term energy solutions, including residential rooftop solar deployment, energy resilience for communities and critical services, nonprofit partnerships, and workforce training to maintain the island's clean energy economy.