House lawmakers, advocates want $5B to help Puerto Rico install rooftop solar, storage systems

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• More than three dozen Democrats in the U.S. House, with the support of consumer advocates and local businesses and churches, are calling for Congress to allocate $5 billion to help struggling Puerto Ricans install solar energy and battery systems at their homes.
• The funding could be allocated through an emergency supplemental appropriations bill, according to House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and would help low-income households and households with people with disabilities install clean energy systems.
• Puerto Rico’s market for rooftop solar and battery systems is “among the most active in the country,” Grijalva and 37 other lawmakers noted in their October letter to House leadership. However, a residential solar panel and battery system costs about $25,000, lawmakers noted, while the median household income in Puerto Rico is around $21,000.

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  Dozens of consumer advocacy groups, businesses and churches on Monday called on the Senate to take up Grijalva’s $5 billion proposal.

  The funding would help ensure vulnerable populations “can remain in their homes and everyday lives in Puerto Rico can continue because people can rely on their power source no matter whether the island is dealing with an extreme weather event or another issue impacting the grid’s performance,” the groups said in a letter to Senate leadership.

  Groups signing the letter include: Power4PR, Alianza for Progress, EarthJustice, Oxfam and the Environmental Defense Fund, along with local businesses and churches.Solar Damper,Lithium battery,Solar tracker actuator,Solar Tracking Controller,NMRV Series Worm Gear Reducer,Planetary gear motor,

  Puerto Rico’s power system has been devastated by natural disasters in recent years, including Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, multiple earthquakes in 2020, and Hurricane Fiona in September. 

  “Efforts to modernize the power grid have seen limited success, impeded for years by recurring delays in project submissions and approvals, technological failures, the persistence of the electric generation authority’s multi-billion-dollar debt, and a general lack of coordination,” according to Grijalva’s letter.

  LUMA Energy began operating Puerto Rico’s electric grid last year, managing the system through a public-private partnership while the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority continues to own the island’s grid assets.Solar Damper,Lithium battery,Solar tracker actuator,Solar Tracking Controller,NMRV Series Worm Gear Reducer,Planetary gear motor,