As the nation recovers from the grid collapse wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, Puerto Rico has pledged to meet its electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2050. U.S. federal agencies are contributing to this effort by collaborating in initiatives to strengthen grid resilience and performance.

The U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have executed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate recovery actions and kickstart the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transition to 100% Renewable Energy (PR100) Study. This community-driven and locally tailored roadmap is designed to help Puerto Rico meet its target of 100% renewable electricity, improve power sector resiliency and increase access to more affordable energy and cleaner air. The upgrade will involve dozens of grid modernization projects in addition to contracts for at least 2 GW of renewable energy and 1 GW of energy storage projects finalized by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

At least 138 projects will be under construction bidding or have begun initial construction activities, including island-wide substation repairs, the replacement of thousands of streetlights across five municipalities, and development of an early warning system to improve dam safety.

The PR100 Study will invite community engagement to inform the development of scenarios that reflect local perspectives and priorities to meet renewable energy supply goals, generate high-quality input data and detailed demand projections, and explore renewable power system reliability, resilience and economic impacts.