A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico

This RMI briefing argues that renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DERs) are cost-effective, resilient, and rapidly deployable solutions for rebuilding Puerto Rico's electrical grid following the damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

• Renewable energy and energy storage have become cost-competitive with fossil fuels due to global price declines. Energy storage costs decreased by 70 percent between 2010 and 2016, with a further 50 percent reduction projected by 2020. Additionally, energy efficiency programs in the United States have average total resource costs under $0.05/kWh, which is lower than the marginal generation costs in Puerto Rico.
• Renewable energy technologies demonstrated higher physical durability than traditional transmission and distribution networks during the 2017 hurricanes. In Puerto Rico, 90 percent of utility-scale wind and solar photovoltaic capacity remained operating or ready to operate, and between 75% and 95% of residential solar systems stayed physically intact.
• New energy technologies can be deployed rapidly for both emergency and long-term needs. Examples include the deployment of over 70 MW of lithium-ion storage in six months during the first half of 2016 by Tesla, Greensmith Energy, and AES Energy Storage, and the construction of a 120 MWh battery for San Diego Gas & Electric in five months in late 2016.
• The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are leading reconstruction efforts. RMI suggests that the Puerto Rico government, regulatory commission, and utility should coordinate to competitively procure renewable and distributed energy projects to ensure a more sustainable and resilient grid.

APA

RMI (2017). A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico. https://rmi.org/resources/resilient-cost-effective-energy-future-puerto-rico/

Chicago

RMI. A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico. 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/resilient-cost-effective-energy-future-puerto-rico/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico |date=19 December 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/resilient-cost-effective-energy-future-puerto-rico/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2017resilient, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/resilient-cost-effective-energy-future-puerto-rico/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }