In this June 18, 2018 photo shows an aerial photo of the Viequez neighborhood, east of San Juan, ... [+]
Since Hurricane Maria blasted Puerto Rico in September 2017 and destroyed the island’s electrical infrastructure, it has become a hotspot for microgrids — localized grids that can insulate businesses from power failures. And the Enel Group and Eaton Corp. hope to create more of them, not just on the island but around the globe.
The beauty of such projects is that they improve reliability so that companies stay afloat and keep making money. That, in turn, justifies the upfront capital. Microgrids are especially valuable in regions that get hurricanes — events that can wipe out a whole island. They typically use on-site wind and solar power, which ties directly into the microgrid and which can store any excess electricity for later use. That green energy is helping governments or businesses achieve their carbon goals and it is often less expensive than importing fossil fuels.
“From our standpoint, putting in a microgrid is a great payback,” says Brian Brickhouse, president of Eaton’s Electrical Sector in the Americas, in an interview with this writer. “It provides resiliency and it helps us to be carbon neutral. It is a slam dunk. The Puerto Rican government sees companies like ours putting in microgrids and helping their island become more resilient.”
Eaton’s microgrid will go live in the third quarter of 2021 — a 5-megawatt solar system with 1.1 megawatts of battery storage. The concept, the company says, is a winner throughout the supply chain — from the utility to the customer, whether they be industrial, commercial or residential.
For now, the two are teaming up to build and operate a microgrid on Eaton’s Puerto Rican campus near San Juan. As for Eaton’s complex, it got blown away during the hurricane and it had to rely on diesel generators for sustained periods. Enel X — the advanced energy services division of the Italian company — will build and manage the microgrid at Eaton’s facility, which makes circuit breakers for residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Eaton will now be able to generate, store, and consume renewable energy while also redirecting any excess power back to the main grid. The utility likes it because it is less pressure on its system. About 60% of Eaton’s electricity needs will come from the solar panels set up in an adjacent field while the remainder will come from the local power company that has a goal to go all-green.
Oh, but the cost?
FILE - In this May 16, 2018 file photo, a worker from the Cobra Energy Company, contracted by the ... [+]
The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau wants 3,500 new megawatts of solar and 1,500 new megawatts of storage by 2025. Possible? Wood Mackenzie is forecasting the microgrid market in Puerto Rico to reach 228 megawatts at that time, which is still more than double the microgrid generation capacity currently available on the island. As of March 2019, Puerto Rico had installed 26 microgrids with 86 megawatts of generating capacity.
“(W)e see significant growth starting in 2021,” says Isaac Maze-Rothstein, a researcher with the global consulting firm. “We are optimistic off-takers will be able to monetize net metering for microgrids, have standardized interconnection costs, and access increasingly affordable third-party financing.”
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is the main utility that serves the island. Before Maria, it ran on oil and coal — and was moving toward natural gas, with plans to build three liquefied natural gas receiving facilities. That’s pretty much how most of the Caribbean islands service their populations. But now the Puerto Rican government wants to go totally green by 2050. To help it get there, the utility will divide the island into eight territories with each one served by a single microgrid — the mechanism by which to deliver the solar power.
Businesses like Eaton are buying in. So are hospitals, first responders and schools. If on-site generation with microgrids can pay off in Puerto Rico, it can also work on the mainland. When Superstorm Sandy hit New York in 2012, half of the back-up generation failed. But the microgrids worked by quickly restoring power.
And utilities are starting to see the need to build in such resiliency, which preserves their lines. They also have carbon goals. For what it is worth, the Caribbean region is battling the effects of climate change with rising tides and beach erosion. Collectively, those island nations emit about 1% of the world’s greenhouse gases.
Eaton’s Brickhouse says that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has been a good partner that has become forward-thinking. And it is not alone: Central Hudson Gas & Electric is building, owning and operating microgrids for customers. And so are Duke Energy
“The value and benefit of on-site power is that you can control the generation and all of the interconnecting points,” says Brickhouse. “So if a tree falls down and takes out the main grid, our facility will stay up. Even larger, utility-scale microgrids can be used across the island.”
Puerto Rico is bouncing back after getting knocked out by Maria. And the way back is through microgrids that have brightened its day: the island can keep the lights on while sustainably generating electricity — a lesson for other risk-prone regions and one that might have a handsome return on investment.
