By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent
The Hill has an interesting article about how one community in Puerto Rico installed a community solar project and restored power to the town for the first time in eight months.
Setting aside the shame the rest of us should feel for leaving our fellow U.S. citizens in darkness for eight months, the story is inspirational and offers a window into how solar can help Puerto Rico improve the resiliency of its electrical system to build resiliency for future natural disasters.
I’m going to quote the entire lead because it was so good:
Imagine living without electricity for 8 months. As the day turns into night, darkness overcomes the roads to your house. Hours go by, while you try to pass the time under the scant illumination of candles, gas lanterns or solar bulbs.
Unbeknownst to you, almost 3,000 of your fellow citizens will eventually die, mostly as a result of the largest power blackout in American history.
This was the situation faced by the residents of Toro Negro, a community in Ciales, Puerto Rico, after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, on September 20, 2017.
See what I mean?
And then the community solar came to the rescue. Thanks to the work of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Toro Negro received a donation of solar modules and battery storage, and now 28 homes are sharing a community solar array:
Twenty-eight homes in Toro Negro now share the benefits of solar power obtained from their roofs and other nearby premises, and the residents operate their microgrid. The residents of Toro Negro will now begin a process to establish their own rate. By generating its energy from 100 percent solar power, the project will also have a positive footprint in the environment.
Toro Negro will become the first fully operational community solar project in Puerto Rico, as well as the first “cooperative microgrid.”
As Puerto Rico goes through this year’s hurricane season, it could learn a lot from the small town of Toro Negro. Let’s hope that this is the first community solar installation of many in the island community.