Puerto Rico still without Power


By: Molly Barnett

Among the many horrific things that were happening in the world in fall 2017 Puerto Rico was hit by a category 4 hurricane. Although many months have passed Puerto Rico is still trying to get through many obstacles, including basic needs of life.

There are many different proposals to how there can be aid in Puerto Rico one being clean energy. There have been many organizations that have stepped up to help Puerto Rico. This includes companies that provide solar and wind farms. This would not only bring power to the island but would be more cost efficient. Recent studies have shown that the cost of wind and solar power has gone down 86 to 67 percent in the last decade. 

The only thing that is stopping the production of these power sources is money. With all the research there is a lack of funding for Puerto Rico. There has been a lot of talk with the US government since Puerto Rico is a US territory. The governor of Puerto Rico has asked for 94.4 billion dollars for aid. The chart below shows that the cost of renewable power would only cost 17.6 billion. Although the US has not agreed on the 94 billion they have proposed an aid package the only downfall is that it would be shared with Florida, Texas and California which have also seen a lot of destruction.




Each day Puerto Rico fights for their basic rights and needs. There are still 400,000 people without power. 

Source: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/heres-how-clean-energy-could-help-puerto-rico-navigate-out-dark

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/12/power-outage-puerto-rico-latest-snag-islands-long-recovery-hurricane-maria/329322002/

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