Generac, Sunnova & Sunrun selected in $440m Puerto Rico solar-storage scheme

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has confirmed that Generac Power Systems, Sunnova Energy Corporation, Sunrun will be among the solar companies and nonprofits that have been selected to install rooftop solar and battery storage systems for vulnerable households in Puerto Rico with an initial $440 million tranche of funding.

The solar and storage systems will be financed via the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund (PR-ERF). 

The first tranche of funding will help lower energy bills for up to 40,000 single-family households in Puerto Rico, the DOE said.

The funding will also “support thousands of local clean energy jobs, help achieve President Biden’s goal of lowering energy costs for all Americans, as well as help Puerto Rico achieve its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050,” according to the DOE.

DOE anticipates the first installations will begin in Spring 2024.

“With this announcement, we take a critical step forward in our efforts to ensure that all Puerto Rico residents have reliable electricity, especially the most vulnerable families and communities for whom a lack of power can be life or death,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Plain and simple, this investment will save lives, all while providing local, good-paying jobs and advancing Puerto Rico’s clean energy transition.”

Eligible beneficiaries of the systems to be installed will include very low-income, single-family households that are either:

• Located in areas that have a high percentage of very low-income households and experience frequent and prolonged power outages; or
  
  
• Include a resident with an energy-dependent disability, such as an electric wheelchair user or individual who uses at-home dialysis machines.

DOE selected three solar companies with an existing workforce in Puerto Rico as well as five qualified nonprofits and cooperatives across the region to begin award negotiations for a total of $440 million to deploy residential solar systems to vulnerable Puerto Rican households.

The following companies will enter the negotiations and may be awarded $400 million in total: Generac Power Systems, Sunnova Energy Corporation, and Sunrun.

The following nonprofits and cooperatives in Puerto Rico will also enter award negotiations and may be awarded $40 million in total: Barrio Eléctrico; Comunidad Solar Toro Negro, Inc.; Environmental Defense Fund; Let's Share the Sun Foundation; and Solar United Neighbors, Inc.