As Hurricanes Maria and Irma fade from the memory of those on the U.S. mainland, a new attitude seem to be emerging among elected leaders and decision makers: The situation might not be good, but it’s good enough for Puerto Rico. It might not be good that thousands of U.S. citizens still lack power eight months after the hurricane, but it’s good enough for Puerto Rico. It might not be good that we still don’t even know exactly how many people died in Maria and Irma, but it’s good enough for Puerto Rico.
Recently we learned that the new CEO of our public electric utility, PREPA, thinks the dirty, polluting coal power that is hurting our health every day is just fine for Puerto Rico. It’s not good enough for people on the mainland, where coal is quickly being replaced with clean energy. But apparently Walter Higgins, the CEO brought in to run our largest public asset, thinks it’s good enough for us.
Last month Mr. Higgins spoke out against Senate Bill 773, a measure proposed in the Puerto Rico Senate to phase out coal for use in electricity by 2028. Mr. Higgins made false claims that electricity made from coal is more affordable than renewable energy. Puerto Rican elected officials are trying to advance our energy system beyond polluting, expensive coal -- but Mr. Higgins is holding us back.
This is a critical time for Puerto Rico’s energy future. Hurricane recovery is our best chance to choose a decentralized clean energy system rather than rebuild the old system that kept up dependent on imported fossil fuels. And the reality is that Mr. Higgins is wrong. Solar energy is much more affordable for Puerto Rico than imported coal.
There are two key facts to know about solar energy today. First: Electricity from solar power is now less expensive than coal or oil electricity. According to the U.S. Department of Energy as well as independent consultants, the cost of solar electricity is 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. This compares with 8 cents per kilowatt-hour from the AES coal plant in Guayama that Mr. Higgins wants to keep open. Puerto Rico does not have deposits of coal or oil, which means that those fossil fuels must be imported, which increases the cost and prolongs the energy dependence of the island. PREPA can lower all of our monthly electric bills by starting to invest in large amounts of solar energy and reducing the amount of coal and dirty fuel oil that it imports to our island.
AES coal plant
Second: Because of advances in manufacturing technology and economies of scale, the cost to generate electricity with solar energy has declined rapidly over the last several years. In fact, according to the latest utility information, the cost of solar energy has declined 86 percent over the last 10 years. No other power generation technology has had the same magnitude of cost reductions as solar energy, and it will continue to fall for years to come. Solar energy is the technology that smart utilities are investing in right now. Electric customers in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and many other states are enjoying the clean renewable energy, lower electric rates, and growing tax base to schools and local governments that come when their utilities invest in solar power.
Here in Puerto Rico, we can no longer afford to keep throwing money at large centralized fossil-fired power plants. Instead we should be moving as quickly as we can to make our island's electricity supply local, renewable, resilient, and distributed so that when the next hurricane comes, the whole system cannot be knocked out in one blow. Mr. Higgins is charged with cleaning up a decade of incompetence, not doubling down on the same mistakes that got us here.
Every single statement that Mr. Higgins made to the legislature on the cost of clean energy was incorrect. I am deeply concerned that the person now charged with leading our public electric utility through hurricane recovery seems to know so little about clean energy technologies. Puerto Ricans no longer rely only on landlines for our telephone service or on horses and buggies for transportation. Why should we be stuck with energy sources invented over one hundred years ago, that pollute our air and water and damage our health?
We need a utility director who recognizes that the future of our electric grid is in solar, batteries, and other clean energy technologies. Mr. Higgins’s outdated ideas about clean energy might be good enough for another utility -- but they’re not good enough for Puerto Rico.