Puerto Rico’s energy transition is being led from the rooftops, not the utility. (PV Magazine)
Residential solar surged to 1.3 GW with 185K home batteries—a market now adding nearly 90 MW a quarter and on track for 3 more GWh of storage by 2029. With high power prices, 1-to-1 net metering, and third-party financing covering most installs, residents have effectively built their own resilience strategy.
Utility-scale progress remains slow. Of the 3.75 GW solar and 1.5 GW storage PREPA was ordered to procure, only about 440 MW solar and up to 485 MW storage are under construction after years of cancellations and financing setbacks.
New executive actions, including accelerated procurement and storage at existing interconnection points, could finally unlock stalled grid-scale projects, but the center of gravity is still firmly in the residential market.