Illustrating the DOE's commitment to improve energy resilience in Puerto Rico's most vulnerable communities, this trip marked the second visit from EJE to the established Hubs within just a few months. During the last visit, a delegation of DOE personnel visited 5 newly installed Hubs. The DOE Resilience Hubs Program seeks to strengthen the electric grid in Puerto Rico.
On this trip to Puerto Rico, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm visited one of the five resilience hubs constructed to date, the Proyecto Ángeles resilience hub in the Calabazas community of Yabucoa. Proyecto Ángeles was already a thriving community center before it was upgraded into a resilience hub, serving more than 500 families since 2009 and maintaining a recreational area, community garden, bazaar, cybercafe, and kitchen, which is used as an aid distribution center during emergencies. The installation of the PV+BESS at Proyecto Ángeles further supports the services they provide for the community, especially during times of need or during power outages.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has been the main partner on the ground in Puerto Rico working with various communities to establish the resilience hubs. Carlos Alberto Velázquez López, Program Director of IREC in Puerto Rico notes, "As the government of Puerto Rico continues to plan on different iterations on how to strengthen and modernize the electrical grid, communities cannot wait. These resilient hubs provide near term, cost effective, distributed services in the form of energy that is improving community life, building cohesion, and creating good jobs for our economy."
After Secretary Granholm toured the Proyecto Ángeles resilience hub, she sat down with Tamia Gordon Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director, Rafael Surillo Ruiz Mayor of Yabucoa , and members of IREC, Yabucoa community leaders, the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and a local financial cooperative for an informal conversation. "The success of this current Hub and future ones are thanks to the support and dedication of mayors and community leaders in the region," said Tamia Gordon. She continued saying, "Your unwavering devotion to the welfare of your communities motivates us and strengthens our resolve towards this essential endeavor."
Community members from Proyecto Ángeles as well as from some of the other resilience hubs were in attendance. One member from the Villa Josco resilience hub shared that during the New Year's Eve power outage, the hub was able to host the local church with lights and music while it sponsored an event for underserved youth in the area. Another resilience hub member shared that the Surcando Historias resilience hub was able to be a space for community members to gather, store refrigerated medicine, and experience some relief from the tropical temperatures during the outage.
The first five resilience hubs in operation, and the remaining five that will be stood up in FY25 are strengthening communities' energy technology access and increasing their energy resiliency, which are core components to DOE's energy justice policy priorities. For future power outages, these resilience hubs will continue to be able to help save lives during emergencies, help communities bounce back in the aftermath, and strengthen the community spaces where they are installed in between these power outage events. To review other investments aimed at improving Puerto Rico's electric grid, see the Grid Deployment Office's work on the Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund and the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100) work.
To learn more about these efforts and what EJE is doing, please visit our website.
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