This post was co-authored by Drew Stilson, Senior Analyst, U.S. Climate Policy at EDF In an update to a previous analysis from EDF and M.J. Bradley & Associates, our latest modeling shows significant environmental benefits stemming from Pennsylvania’s proposed plan to cap power sector carbon emissions and participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, known […]

Puerto Rico can achieve reliable and equitable clean energy. Here’s what it’ll take.

This post first appeared on Forbes and was co-authored by Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz.

Puerto Rico sits in the eye of what’s been the busiest hurricane season on record with an old and historically unreliable power system. The all too common occurrence of blackouts left more than 400,000 people in San Juan in the dark hours before Tropical Storm Isaias made landfall on the U.S. territory this week. Isaias is the latest storm to test Puerto Rico’s preparedness after Hurricane Maria tore apart its electric grid in 2017.

Lack of funding to rebuild critical infrastructure and the Trump administration’s ongoing neglect have elevated the risk that unimaginable human suffering awaits with the next storm.

There are few places where social, economic and environmental inequality are on display more starkly than in Puerto Rico. Only months ago a series of earthquakes dealt another blow, causing widespread blackouts and leaving thousands of people without shelter in Guayanilla and other towns on the southwest corner of the island. Now, the coronavirus has halted an already struggling economy. Relief can’t come fast enough.

Energy is a lifeline for the people of Puerto Rico to access clean water, food and health services. Yet three years after Maria, work to rebuild the electric system has barely begun and blackouts are commonplace. Rural communities remain the hardest hit.

Complicating matters is the premium Puerto Ricans pay for energy that is both dirty and unreliable because of an outdated, centralized power infrastructure. Most electricity is generated from old oil-burning power plants fed by expensive imports, then transported by a fragile, decrepit delivery system. The poor design, with heavy reliance on fossil fuels, adds to high electricity costs and air pollution that harms people’s health.

Many actions are required to right decades of wrongs in Puerto Rico. One of them is a reliable and resilient energy system built to withstand an increasingly volatile climate. But resiliency alone is not enough. Puerto Rico deserves a cleaner future that puts families and communities first in delivering safe, affordable and reliable energy.

Leaders in Washington and San Juan should look for solutions bubbling up from the communities across the island, which amid a global pandemic are even more exposed than they were before Maria. Policymakers can support them by removing barriers that maintain a centralized system and providing incentives for communities to invest in and develop distributed resources using rooftop solar and other innovative technologies.

Although the need to reinvent the electric grid to better serve all communities is obvious, there is a troubling history of special interest groups representing large energy projects being prioritized over the public good. Many communities have little faith that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority will be responsive to widespread calls for affordable, locally produced energy such as rooftop and community solar power.

Now, PREPA has an opportunity to make lasting improvements to the electric grid through its integrated resource plan, a 20-year roadmap for how the public utility will develop energy resources. Unfortunately, the process has been marked by delays, and PREPA’s revisions fall well short of the government’s pledge to generate 40% of energy from renewable sources by 2025 and for Puerto Rico to hit 100% renewables by 2050.

PREPA and Puerto Rico’s elected leaders must prioritize the island’s long-term energy transition by actively listening to all stakeholder input, including that of communities and local non-governmental organizations. These groups have demonstrated tireless leadership to meet critical needs through an array of crises. They deserve our attention.

It’s also crucial that public officials respond to local demands to scrap plans to build new gas power plants and avoid making contracts that perpetuate a vulnerable, centralized system at the expense of resiliency and clean energy.

Several promising technologies are available to accelerate clean energy growth. Distributed energy resources like solar and new innovations that include low-carbon microgrids — mini clean power service stations backed by battery storage — can help both decentralize and strengthen the grid.

A community-first approach is the only way to shape Puerto Rico’s energy future so that it serves the people, the economy and the environment in a reliable and equitable way. Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund are working together with communities and local groups to advocate for the solutions that will make this a reality. Clean energy and community leadership are key to a system that will protect the island from the next storm and improve the lives of all Puerto Ricans.

The energy job market is in trouble. Here's how we fix it. jtroyano August 12, 2020 - 05:08

Thanks for tuning in! Last week, forecasters updated their outlook calling for an ‘extremely active‘ remainder of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Simone and Jacques chat with WAFB Meteorologist Steve Caparotta to get his insights on the update and what is driving it, as well as discuss prior record-breaking seasons and other trends. On the second half of the show, Jacques and Simone discuss a number of coastal updates, including reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Sherwood “Woody” Gagliano, highlighting ...

Read The Full Story

The post Delta Dispatches: Checking in on Hurricane Season with Steve Caparotta appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Thanks for tuning in! Last week, forecasters updated their outlook calling for an ‘extremely active‘ remainder of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Simone and Jacques chat with WAFB Meteorologist Steve Caparotta to get his insights on the update and what is driving it, as well as discuss prior record-breaking seasons and other trends. On the second half of the show, Jacques and Simone discuss a number of coastal updates, including reflecting on the legacy of Dr. Sherwood “Woody” Gagliano, highlighting ...

Read The Full Story

The post Delta Dispatches: Checking in on Hurricane Season with Steve Caparotta appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Given how important it is to have clean water during this pandemic, California must prioritize safe and affordable drinking water.

The post Don’t let funding dry up for safe and affordable drinking water first appeared on Growing Returns.

Given how important it is to have clean water during this pandemic, California must prioritize safe and affordable drinking water.

By Fred Krupp and Ramón Cruz, Sierra Club President En Español Puerto Rico sits in the eye of what’s been the busiest hurricane season on record with an old and historically unreliable power system. The all too common occurrence of blackouts left more than 400,000 people in San Juan in the dark hours before Tropical […]

The post Puerto Rico can achieve reliable and equitable clean energy. Here’s what it’ll take. appeared first on Energy Exchange.

By Fred Krupp and Ramón Cruz, Sierra Club President En Español Puerto Rico sits in the eye of what’s been the busiest hurricane season on record with an old and historically unreliable power system. The all too common occurrence of blackouts left more than 400,000 people in San Juan in the dark hours before Tropical […]

Por Fred Krupp  y Ramón Cruz, presidente de Sierra Club Puerto Rico se encuentra en el medio de lo que ha sido la temporada de huracanes más activa de la que se tiene registro y la enfrenta con un sistema de energía eléctrica antiguo y poco fiable. Los apagones, cada vez más frecuentes, dejaron a […]

The post Puerto Rico puede tener energía limpia, fiable y equitativa. Se requiere lo siguiente. appeared first on Energy Exchange.

Por Fred Krupp  y Ramón Cruz, presidente de Sierra Club Puerto Rico se encuentra en el medio de lo que ha sido la temporada de huracanes más activa de la que se tiene registro y la enfrenta con un sistema de energía eléctrica antiguo y poco fiable. Los apagones, cada vez más frecuentes, dejaron a […]

There are few places where social, economic and environmental inequality are on display more starkly than in Puerto Rico. Energy is a lifeline for the people of Puerto Rico to access clean water, food and health services. 

There are few places where social, economic and environmental inequality are on display more starkly than in Puerto Rico. Energy is a lifeline for the people of Puerto Rico to access clean water, food and health services. 

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Today, the Trump EPA released its second final risk evaluation and determination under the reformed TSCA, for the carcinogenic solvent, 1-bromopropane (1-BP). As was the case with the final document for methylene chloride – which has already been challenged in court (see here and here) – EPA has […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Today, the Trump EPA released its second final risk evaluation and determination under the reformed TSCA, for the carcinogenic solvent, 1-bromopropane (1-BP). As was the case with the final document for methylene chloride – which has already been challenged in court (see here and here) – EPA has […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist. Today, the Trump EPA released its second final risk evaluation and determination under the reformed TSCA, for the carcinogenic solvent, 1-bromopropane (1-BP). As was the case with the final document for methylene chloride – which has already been challenged in court (see here and here) – EPA has […]

State resilience officers share four lessons learned from disaster response and planning.

State resilience officers share four lessons learned from disaster response and planning.

The post From Louisiana to New York, coastal leaders come together to build climate resilience first appeared on Growing Returns.

This first report in a new joint research series by Environmental Defense Fund and Resources for the Future examines US federal economic development programs and policies that can revitalize communities that have been historically reliant on fossil fuels. Daniel Raimi, Wesley Look, Molly Robertson of RFF and Jake Higdon of EDF contributed to the report […]

The post New report: How economic development policies can support fossil fuel communities in the move to a clean economy appeared first on Climate 411.

This first report in a new joint research series by Environmental Defense Fund and Resources for the Future examines US federal economic development programs and policies that can revitalize communities that have been historically reliant on fossil fuels. Daniel Raimi, Wesley Look, Molly Robertson of RFF and Jake Higdon of EDF contributed to the report […]