A new group for solar and energy storage in Puerto Rico has formed. The Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA-PR) includes several key local and national industry partners. The association will hold its as inaugural energy conference this month.
SESA-PR is an association representing Puerto Rico’s solar and energy storage industries, fighting to bring clean, reliable, affordable and local energy to the entire island. It will promote distributed, resilient and renewable technologies of solar and storage as a primary solution to the energy needs of Puerto Rico and as the means of empowering individual Puerto Ricans during the rebuilding, through the next hurricane, and for the long term. Founding members include companies like New Energy, Pura Energía, SRInergy, Windmar, Sunrun, Tabuchi, Sonnen and more.
SESA-PR will serve as the voice of the renewable and distributed energy industry in rebuilding conversations in Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C. and nationally.
Together, SESA-PR and partners will be hosting the inaugural SESA Puerto Rico Energy Summit on June 25 and 26. The conference will focus on the future of energy for the island and provide the perspectives from the intersecting worlds of solar, energy storage, government, finance, and economic development.
“At this crucial moment for Puerto Rico, we are calling on the people to join this effort that aims to guide and educate around the use of solar energy to reduce dependence on the traditional electrical system,” said Patrick James Wilson, president of SESA-PR. “We have assembled a group of experts who will participate in a broad discussion on the future of energy on the island and share their perspectives from various sectors such as government, finance and economic development.”
Puerto Rico has depended for a long time on an unstable and unsustainable electricity network, which depends on fossil fuels for its operation. As a result of this, the cost of generating electricity is the second highest in the nation.
“I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Our electric grid was broken when I was growing up and is obviously in even worse condition today,” said Alejandro Uriarte, Director of SESA-PR and Managing Partner at New Energy Consultants. “Rebuilding after the hurricanes provides our island with a unique opportunity to upgrade our grid using better, more reliable technology like solar and battery storage that can make Puerto Rico an energy leader in the United States and across the world.”
Puerto Rico’s electricity network has proven to be unreliable and extremely vulnerable to damage. The need to work together and find creative, new solutions for the generation of energy has reached a critical point and will require a full effort from key stakeholders in advocacy, policy, and private business alike.
“Sunrun is proud to be one of the founding members of SESA-PR. We are committed to SESA’s mission to improve understanding of the significant value of home solar and batteries to the local community and improve Puerto Rico’s energy system,” said Chris Rauscher, Director of Public Policy at Sunrun. “Home solar and batteries put residents at the center of the solution and make Puerto Rico’s energy system more resilient and reliable, and help withstand future weather events.”
SESA-PR strives to bring awareness and understanding of solar and battery technology to both government policymakers and the public, as well as facilitate collectively beneficial collaboration and good business practices within the industry.
News item from SESA-PR
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