#SOLAR GRIDS FOR TOWNS TV#

Marrero is lucky because while Puerto Rico gets enough sunlight to meet its residential electricity needs at least four times over, less than 3% of the island’s energy comes from renewable sources. I feel more secure, if we get another big hurricane like Maria, I won’t suffer so much,” said Marrero. I thank God because my poor neighbours are suffering but I’ve always got electricity. “It’s the best thing that’s happened to me.

#SOLAR GRIDS FOR TOWNS TV#

But thanks to the rooftop solar system, Marrero could stay cool and watch TV without worrying about the food going off in the fridge. In hot and humid Guayama, the lights went out for several hours almost every day for those unable to afford a backup generator. Traffic lights failed, hospitals used expensive diesel generators to keep dialysis machines and ventilators running, and fires broke out due to fluctuations in voltage.ĭespite the abysmal service, electricity rates have increased four times so far this year.

Puerto Ricans can pay more than twice as much for electricity as Americans on the mainland, depending on which sector they are in, yet earlier this month power cuts to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses caused widespread anger and misery. Rooftop solar could supply all of Puerto Rico’s energy needs Ruth Santiago The situation with the electricity is dire.

Solar grids for towns