Push to eliminate renewable energy goals in Puerto Rico sparks outrage as outages persist Puerto Rico legislators on Monday held a contentious public hearing on a governor-backed bill that would eliminate renewable energy goals and extend operations of the island's lone coal-fired plant, long accused of polluting low-income communities.
The project submitted by the governor upholds a 2050 goal that renewable energy meet 100% of Puerto Rico power needs, but eliminating the other goals means that final one will not be achieved, said Pedro Saadé, a Puerto Rico attorney who is an expert in environmental law.
Mary Carmen Zapata, director of Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, recently told El Nuevo Día newspaper that she believes a new fossil fuel-based plant in the island’s southern region is needed in addition to a natural gas plant being built in Puerto Rico’s capital that is expected to start operating in 2028.
The coal-burning plant located in the southern coastal town of Guayama produces up to 20% of power consumed in Puerto Rico, generating an average of 510 megawatts a year, said Jesús Bolinaga, president of AES Puerto Rico, which runs the plant.
Despite the push to eliminate certain renewable energy goals, the governor announced Sunday a $767 million contract with Tesla funded by the U.S. government to buy 430 megawatts in energy storage systems, which she said would help stabilize Puerto Rico’s power grid.
