US government releases $1 billion of energy resilience relief for Puerto Rico

Share

From pv magazine USA

The US Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office released a request for information (RFI) this week to gather feedback from stakeholders in Puerto Rico on how to allocate $1 billion managed through the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF).

After recent hurricanes and decades of underinvestment in the island’s electric grid, the new funds will be developed to increase energy resilience and reduce the energy burden on the Caribbean island’s vulnerable residents. The investment is also aligned with Puerto Rico’s public energy policy to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050, as well as the US government's commitment to improving the island’s energy system.

After Hurricane Fiona in October 2022, President Joe Biden visited the island and committed to leveraging the technical support of federal agencies to support improvements to Puerto Rico’s electric grid. In December, Biden signed the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act into law, which includes $1 billion for the PR-ERF funding to drive key investments in renewable and resilient energy infrastructure in Puerto Rico.

The PR-ERF package will be managed by the Grid Deployment Office, in consultation with the Federal Energy Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agency is requesting information from Puerto Rican stakeholders about short- and long-term energy solutions, including residential rooftop solar deployment, community and critical service energy resilience, non-profit partnerships, and workforce training to sustain the island’s clean energy economy.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine USA website.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Popular content

Mercedes-Benz testing new solar paint
02 December 2024 Mercedes-Benz said it is now evaluating a 20%-efficient, non-silicon photovoltaic coating that is significantly cheaper than conventional solar module...