Months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, 48 percent of the island’s power grid remains offline. Only 75 percent of Puerto Rico is expected to have power by the end of January. The United States territory may have been plunged into darkness since the tropical storm, but it is also now on the radar of solar power providers competing to shape the island’s electrical future. Once reliant on an outdated power grid and imported fossil fuels, Puerto Rico now has an opportunity to build an integrated system of renewable mini-grids and backup batteries from scratch. Last month, Tesla began building a solar generation and storage facility in Puerto Rico to power a single hospital, but demand for power outstrips supply.

African markets are all too familiar with these conditions, but countries with little power infrastructure are now turning to accessible, more resilient off-grid electricity solutions. Puerto Rico, now an electrical blank canvas, should learn from African markets about cutting ties with fossil fuels, building off-grid from the start, and looking to public-private partnerships for a system-wide rollout.

Dependence on imported fossil fuels leaves Puerto Rico vulnerable to unpredictable supply. With the U.S. cutting coal power use by 45 percent in favor of less expensive alternatives like natural gas, Puerto Rico cannot afford its continued reliance on energy sources that are being phased out on the mainland.

Read the full article by Sasha Israni about solar energy for Puerto Rico from Devex International Development