Solar Starting to Shine in Puerto Rico

Two months ago, Walmart Puerto Rico announced a partnership with SunEdison to deploy rooftop solar systems at five Walmart PR stores, with plans pending for a total of 23 installations over the next five years. The initiative — which will be the largest renewable energy project ever developed on the island — is a prominent, recent example of Puerto Rico’s growing interest in solar energy.

This interest is well founded. Like other islands — notably Hawaii, as another U.S. reference — Puerto Rico imports most of its energy. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) currently generates about two-thirds of the island’s electricity from oil, all of which is imported. The rest of demand is met with imported coal and natural gas, with just a few percentage points met with hydroelectric, solar and wind. (See this fact sheet from the Energy Information Agency for more details.)

Partly as a result of the island’s dependence on fuel imports, electricity rates in Puerto Rico are high. When I was there in August to attend a solar PV installation class, the going rate was around 20 cents per kWh, about double the U.S. average. While price hedging can help lessen the impact of $147-a-barrel-oil — a price reached last July — the fiscal imperative to minimize exposure to inflation and price spikes is particularly strong for Puerto Rico. Put simply, the island needs more homegrown power.

Policymakers and officials at PREPA have started to acknowledge this, establishing a number of important policies to encourage the adoption of solar, wind, and other renewable-energy technologies. In 2007, the island enacted net-metering rules, followed in 2008 by a sizable solar energy tax credit for individuals and businesses. While there’s still a long way to go before solar truly takes hold, these recent policy moves — coupled with high rates for conventional power — appear to be encouraging new solar projects.

I was lucky enough to see one — a commercial mono-crystaline installation at Aireko Enterprises, a construction firm based in Caguas, just south of San Juan. Even though it was overcast and late in the day, the system was still putting out kWs — though, to be honest, I don’t remember at what rate.

Solar at Aireko Enterprises (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

The installation incorporates mono-crystaline SolarWorld panels, along with SMA Sunny Tower inverters and related equipment. For a look at the system’s real-time and historical performance, visit the project’s SMA Sunny Portal. Almost as impressive as seeing the installation itself was peeking at the electricity production data. While small compared to utility-scale installations, this was a serious system — and the biggest I’ve seen to date.

UPDATE: Work on Walmart PR’s first system — also in Caguas, a 895-kW installation at the Walmart Supercenter — should be underway by the end of this year.