The Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA-PR) applauds Puerto Rico’s legislature for giving final approval Monday to Senate Bill 1121 — the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act — which will set the Island on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Once signed by Governor Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico will join Hawaii and California in establishing a transition to 100% renewable energy.
“Policymakers have listened to the solar and storage industry leaders’ input every step of the way while developing this historic legislation,” said PJ Wilson, President of SESA-PR. “SB 1121 eliminates many of the barriers that have frustrated solar deployment at all levels for years and creates a clear vision for ramping up clean energy, but actually implementing the law will require strong continued collaboration as Puerto Rico’s power grid transforms from 97% imported fossil fuel dependence to 100% local clean energy.”
SB 1121 establishes a 100% renewable energy renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2050, bans coal plants starting in 2028, provides for automatic interconnection to the grid of customer-sited solar energy systems below 25 kW and reduces the utility approval time to 90 days for commercial and industrial solar projects. It also creates a five-year window of full compensation for consumers’ solar energy production and streamlined permitting for utility-scale projects. SESA-PR applauds the bill’s provisions as effective mechanisms to facilitate Puerto Rico’s achievement of the first target of 40% renewable energy by 2024.
“Current utility-scale solar projects are well positioned to jumpstart the objectives of this legislation. If policy makers push them forward, Puerto Rico can quickly show the world that the implementation of renewable energy on the island is for real,” said Adrian Stella, managing member of Renewable Energy Authority.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló has expressed his strong support for 100% renewable energy as part of his post-Hurricane María recovery vision and plan. The changes are intended to create a more resilient island built upon state of the art technology that transcends the diesel and coal-fired centralized generation electricity model, towards a clean, more decentralized energy system with local, renewable resources at its center.
“This is the most forward thinking piece of legislation we have ever seen in the industry and it shows the commitment of the government toward renewables,” said Alejandro Uriarte, CEO of New Energy.
Following hurricanes Irma and María in 2017, Puerto Rico’s diverse and sophisticated energy stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and government engaged in serious dialogue to arrive at concrete, consensual proposals for Puerto Rico’s energy future. Puerto Rico’s Senate drafted the new bi-partisan energy law (Senate Bill 1121) under the leadership of Senate Vice President Larry Seilhamer (NPP) and Senator Eduardo Bhatia (PDP), with strong support from both the Senate and House.
“Today is a win for all Puerto Ricans,” said Lynn Jurich, CEO and co-founder of Sunrun, the nation’s leading residential solar and energy services company. “Leaders like Governor Rosselló have embraced clean energy technology like home solar and batteries ever since the deadly hurricanes in 2017 devastated the island and its entire electricity grid. This critical legislation will create local jobs, grow the economy, and enable even more Puerto Ricans to have access to clean, resilient, reliable energy for their homes.”
“We congratulate Puerto Rico’s legislature for passing this historic bill,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Utility-scale and distributed solar energy will create jobs, fuel the economy and provide much needed security and reliability to Puerto Rico’s power system. And that in turn will reduce dependence on old infrastructure and fuels that must be transported from overseas.”
Additionally, SB 1121 bill establishes that solar energy users will have access to NEM within one month of a system’s installation, clarifies that the existing NEM policy shall be in place for no less than five years, and that new solar consumers will be grandfathered and protected from future policy changes for the next 20 years.
SB 1121 is showcasing the right way to build RPS standards, by clarifying that all scales of renewable energy production, including home solar energy, will count for Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for RPS compliance. The bill also exempts solar electric storage equipment from sales taxes and grants the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau more fiscal autonomy and powers to perform performance-based metrics, among many other innovations.
News item from SESA-PR
Alberto Marty says
Do not believe what this government says. They will not get to even 20%!
R says
California has not set out on a course to transition to 100% renewable energy.