Contact: April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org
San Juan, Puerto Rico, -- Sierra Club de Puerto Rico issued a letter correcting some misleading statements made by new PREPA CEO Mr. Walter M. Higgins on the cost of clean energy. On May 15, 2018, Higgins spoke out strongly against Senate Bill 773, a measure proposed in the Puerto Rico Senate to phase out coal for use in electric generation over the next 10 years (by 2028). Higgins made false and misleading claims that coal imported to Puerto Rico is more affordable than clean energy. In response, Sierra Club de Puerto Rico provided accurate information about low prices for solar generation, demonstrating clearly that coal is costing Puerto Rico utility customers money every day as well as harming public health.
In response,José A. Menéndez, Chapter Chair for Sierra Club de Puerto Rico, issued the following statement:
“Every single statement that PREPA CEO Walter 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 resilient clean energy technologies. The price of solar energy has dropped by 86 percent in the last ten years. Mr. Higgins told the legislature last month that solar energy is 100-200 percent more expensive than it actually is, using extremely outdated information. In 2018, the cost of solar is 4-5 cents per kilowatt-hour, while power generated at the AES coal plant that Mr. Higgins is so committed to costs 8 cents per kilowatt-hour.
“Puerto Ricans no longer rely on landlines for our telephone service, or horses and buggies for transportation. Why should we be stuck with energy sources invented over one hundred years ago, that pollute our air and damage our public health? Coal is dirty, period, and we should stop importing it to burn on our island. We need a utility director that recognizes that the future of our electric grid is in solar and other clean energy technologies.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.