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The Caribbean island plans to use battery energy storage systems (BESS) as part of a plan to replace gas-fired power plants following the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
Puerto Rico plans to launch the first projects for a total of 430 MW of new BESS, which will replace the islands gas-fired power plants, before October 2025.
In a document published on November 8, 2024, the government of the unincorporated US territory details its plans to decommission 148 MW of gas-fired generating capacity and replace it with 430 MW of BESS and 244 MW of new “peaker” plants, which will be turned on during periods of peak grid demand.
The plan to upgrade the Caribbean islands generation fleet also involves freeing up 810 MW of capacity through repairs, following hurricanes Irma and Maria, which devastated the territory in 2017.
The document indicates that the private energy company Genera, which operates the islands generation fleet, is in negotiations with Tesla to purchase BESS equipment. The negotiation contract will be reviewed by the government agency Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority and the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board this month.
The public document, a monthly update from Genera on the progress of BESS decommissioning and acquisition, indicates that the 52 MW of BESS project capacity planned at Cambalache is expected to come online in the third quarter of 2025. Some 49 MW of BESS at Vega Baja and 30 MW at Costa Sur are planned by the end of 2025. Another 40 MW of BESS is planned at Yabucoa in the first three months of 2026; 158 MW, at Aguirre, should arrive in three months; and the last BESS, of 101 MW, is expected at Palo Seco in the third quarter of 2026.
Genera said it expects BESS development proposals for the Cambalache site to be submitted on November 21, 2024. |
