Bringing Reliable, Renewable Energy to the People of Puerto Rico
Courtesy of RMI.
By Max Lainfiesta, Nathaniel Buescher, & Michael Liebman
Income inequality is palpable on the streets of the United States in cities and towns alike. On one block you may have neighborhoods with maintained roads and sidewalks, well-funded schools, and easy access to services including grocery stores, transit, healthcare, and banks. And on the next block you may have neighborhoods in transit or food deserts with vulnerable key infrastructure including streets, schools, and healthcare.
This checkerboard-like phenomenon becomes ever more apparent after a disaster, as communities with less resources wait, often literally in the dark, while construction crews and vehicles go first to the areas with more.
This was especially visible in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, which struck four years ago on September 20, when communities endured the longest power outage in US history. Public aid for many lower- and middle-income communities was both insufficient and slow. That is why RMI and partners* formed the Puerto Rico Community Energy Resilience Initiative (CERI).
CERI’s goal is to advance access to reliable and renewable energy for critical facilities in low-to-moderate income communities using solar plus storage microgrids. Under a broader definition of critical facility, examples include hospitals and fire stations, local life-sustaining businesses, and non-profits providing essential services following disasters.
The CERI team spent a year working on pilot projects, community engagement, and financing vehicle development. In the end, the team found that a community-driven process combined with flexible capital and technical assistance is the most effective way to help achieve energy resilience for those whose needs are not served in the current market.
The CERI team on site at one of the critical facilities: Farmacia Jomari in rural Puerto Rico. During power outages after Hurricane Maria, the pharmacy provided critical health & financial services to local community members.
Putting All Communities in the Driver’s Seat
CERI puts Puerto Rican communities that received limited aid after disasters in the driver’s seat. The team does this by first listening to community stakeholders and then addressing their energy resilience needs by preparing and de-risking the project. CERI then uses a blend of capital from financial institutions and philanthropic organizations to advance access to reliable and renewable energy.
Currently, the CERI team is installing four pilot projects at critical facilities: two nonprofit organizations and two local businesses, with systems averaging approximately 63 kW of solar and 30 kWh of storage. The pilot projects highlight the importance of community ownership of systems, flexibility in designing a project’s financing, and timing for engaging different stakeholders.
When microgrid projects are locally owned, community members autonomously create their energy goals while simultaneously bolstering local economies and jobs. Facility leaders can determine which equipment and operations must continue during an outage based on their own experiences. This bottom-up involvement shifts accountability from external programs to the community itself.
Flexible Financing Adapts to Community Needs
It is crucial to have financing models that are scalable yet able to flex to individual project constraints. The CERI team will soon launch a financing vehicle which will provide critical facilities throughout the island with concessionary capital and technical assistance needed to simultaneously make systems more affordable and make financing viable.
Operationally, this equates to a lower interest rate and a shorter term on the loan used to pay for the facility’s microgrid. This grant funding contributes to the system’s down payment and to the creation of a loan loss reserve for financial institutions to allow facilities with varying credit histories to access competitive interest rates.
The CERI team’s initial vision was to award a project with an amount of grant funding so that the microgrid’s estimated monthly costs over a 10-year period would be less than the facility’s average monthly energy bill. Monthly costs include loan payments, maintenance, insurance costs, and fixed fees to the utility.
Although some facility staff prioritized the lower monthly energy costs, other facility managers were willing to pay more to reduce their loan term. Such scenarios highlighted the need for the CERI team to work with financial institutions to offer flexibility in the loan’s terms and/or payment options that do not penalize early payments.
Syncing Timelines of Multiple Stakeholders
From a timeline perspective, as the CERI team scales up, the team will ensure to use an inclusive and fair process for project recruitment and selection. This includes engaging with all types of communities (rural and urban, for example) and maintaining transparency with interested facilities.
Once projects are selected, CERI team members will be diligent to engage all the project’s stakeholders early in the project development process and use a competitive process whenever possible to find savings for the participating organizations. Such stakeholders include local financial institutions, local microgrid developers, and critical facility staff. These stakeholders have varying amounts of staff available to focus on a specific microgrid project and differing due diligence and review processes.
For example, financial institutions assess the facility’s financial history, developers build systems based on the facility staff’s requirements, and the facility staff decide whether to take a loan depending on costs and loan terms. If not lined up properly, these timelines translate into time-consuming due diligence processes and rounds of negotiation that can lead to delays in a project.
The Right System for Each Individual Need
Facilities have greatly varying needs differing on the types of electricity services, electricity rates, and on how and when they use energy. Therefore, technical assistance on energy modeling, system sizing, energy efficiency analysis, and procurement support is key to ensure that each facility has the right system and best price for its specific needs.
For example, a therapy and rehabilitation center may use power mainly during weekdays while a supermarket may require a steady energy supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In the event of a prolonged power outage, facilities have very different critical load needs — while some facilities may be able to operate with 25 percent of the usual energy supply, others may require 50 percent or more. Time of use and critical load size have significant implications when designing battery size.
There are also physical constraints that affect project design. Some facilities may have a structurally sound roof that has enough space to accommodate the system, while others may not have enough roof space or may need significant repairs to accommodate a solar system. And some facilities may need ground-mounted systems that increase the system costs (ground mounted systems of this size are often more expensive than roof mounted systems based on the additional construction needed).
In most cases, facility owners and or administrators lack the experience and background needed to know if the system is right for their needs, if the price is appropriate given the market, or if the equipment meets the local requirements. With technical assistance, facilities can get the right system at the right price, and are likely to share their positive experiences with colleagues. This will lead to grassroots scaling of renewable energy in communities in Puerto Rico and beyond.
The Importance of Capacity Building
Maintenance is key to the sustainability of these systems. Building the capacity to check the system, use pre-contracted O&M and warranties, replace parts as needed, and ensure continuous safety and system operation is essential. Through a CERI-specific capacity building plan, facility owners and administrators gain the knowledge required to understand the technical aspects, financials, and overall implications of acquiring and maintaining a solar-plus-storage microgrid.
What’s Next for CERI?
The CERI team is preparing a transition to a next phase of demonstration projects across Puerto Rico. This work will set the stage for the full implementation of a scaled-up financing vehicle where hundreds of facilities will benefit from affordable and resilient solar-plus-storage microgrids.
These microgrids will provide stable energy prices, savings from day one, the ability to continue providing essential services in the event of an emergency, environmental benefits, and ultimately, community resilience and wellness. They will enable all community members to receive critical services such as health care, food, water, and communication when needed most.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact us at CERI@rmi.org.
* CERI was founded by The Rockefeller Foundation; RMI; Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico; The Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust; the Association of Renewable Energy Consultants and Contractors for Puerto Rico; and Resilient Power Puerto Rico.
Featured photo by Wei Zeng on Unsplash
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Are you wondering what kind of results you’d get if you added a home solar system to your roof? Homeowners are sharing their results online — and the real-world data might surprise you!
In a recent post to r/Solar, a Reddit user going by DontBuyBitcoin shared a screenshot indicating that their newly-installed ~11.5 kW system produced over 1,700 kWh of electricity in October. “Pretty surprised by the production of the system I got,” writes DontBuyBitcoin. “11.48KW. I cant wait to see what JUNE-AUGUST [2026] going to look like 😍 I wish SolarEdge will make their app better looking with more functionality”
Home solar energy chart
Other Redditors were quick to share in the enthusiasm. “Congratulations!!! Great numbers,” wrote LegalNet4337. “We got 1.6 MWh with a 14.45 kW system. East and West facing panels in SoCal.”
That 1,700 kWh is nothing to sneeze at. Based on the current national average electricity price of about $0.17/kWh (in AUG2025), DontBuyBitcoin’s admittedly large-ish system translates to ~$290 of potential savings. In a higher rate state like Illinois, with a projected 2026 kWh rate that’s closer to $0.18/kWh, that’s ~$306/mo.
We expect retail electricity prices to residential customers will average 17 cents per kilowatthour (kWh) nationwide in 2025, a 4% increase over 2024, and then rise to approximately 18 cents/kWh in 2026. This rise continues a trend in which residential electricity prices have increased at an average annual rate of 5% each year since the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in retail electricity prices this year comes as the cost of natural gas to the electric power sector was up more than 40% in 1H25 compared with a year earlier, with similar year-over-year increases forecast for the remainder of 2025. The average cost of natural gas for power generation in our forecast increases another 17% in 2026.
Those are big numbers, but 11-15 kW rooftop solar systems are big. Significantly bigger, in fact, than the US average, ~6.6 kW in 2024 – but you don’t have to have a big system in order to post big numbers. Superior weather conditions and perfect PV panel placement can also get the job done, as another Redditor found.
“The last 2 days we have had perfect weather here in South Florida and I have been able to get over 30 kWh from a 5 kW system with a 3.8 kW inverter. This is the highest I have seen since getting PTO in September,” wrote Redditor dlewis23, who shared another SolarEdge graph. “I am super happy with seeing over 30 kWh in a single day.”
30 kW/day from home solar
Taken altogether, these real-world snapshots prove that whether it’s a modest 5 kW array or a beefy 10+ kW setup, homeowners out in the real world are seeing meaningful, measurable differences from their home solar installations. And, with retail electricity prices projected to keep on rising through the decade, every kilowatt counts.
Electrek’s Take
When we ran our “Why did you choose to go solar?” survey back in September, only 32.6% of respondents chose, “Lowering my monthly utility bills” as their primary motivation to go solar. That result proved, in my mind, that Electrek readers are just better people than most, and seem to be willing to spend a little more to do something positive for their environment and their community.
That said, wasn’t it no less a thinker than Albert Einstein who said, “Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe” (Google it.)? And, with a 5% rate hike compounding every year from now until the AI and data center bubbles burst, the impact energy rates may have on all our pocketbooks may be enough to put “Lowering my monthly utility bills” back on top.
If and when that happens: be smart, get several quotes, and understand the difference between buying and leasing your PV system (especially if you plan on selling your home in the foreseeable future).
SOURCES: Reddit, EIA; featured image via Tesla.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
It seems like the writing was already on the wall last week when Volvo moved to make its Luminar-supplied LiDAR system an option – there are now reports that the Swedish car brand is set to ditch LiDAR tech entirely in 2026.
In a recent SEC filing following a missed interest payment on its 2L notes, Luminar confirmed that Volvo’s new ES90 and EX90 flagship models (along with the new Polestar 3) would no longer be offered with LiDAR from Luminar. The move signals a full reversal on the safety tech that had started as standard equipment, then became an option, and is now (according to reports from CarScoops) gone altogether.
In a statement, a Volvo Cars USA spokesperson added the decision was reportedly made, “to limit the company’s supply chain risk exposure, and it is a direct result of Luminar’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to Volvo Cars.”
This is what Luminar had to say about the current, icy state of the two companies’ relationship as of the 31OCT filing:
The Company’s largest customer, Volvo Cars (“Volvo”), has informed us that, beginning in April 2026, Volvo will no longer make our Iris LiDAR standard on its EX90 and ES90 vehicles (although Iris will remain an option). Volvo also informed the Company that it has deferred the decision as to whether to include LiDAR, including Halo (Luminar’s next generation LiDAR under development), in its next generation of vehicles from 2027 to 2029 at the earliest. As a result of these actions, the Company has made a claim against Volvo for significant damages and has suspended further commitments of Iris LiDAR products for Volvo pending resolution of the dispute. The Company is in discussions with Volvo concerning the dispute; however, there can be no assurance that the dispute will be resolved favorably or at all. Furthermore, there can be no guarantee that any claim or litigation against Volvo will be successful or that the Company will be able to recover damages from Volvo.
As a result of the foregoing, the Company is suspending its guidance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025.
On November 14, Luminar confirmed that Volvo had terminated its contract altogether, in a blow that could leave Luminar rethinking its long-term future and planning litigation against its biggest ex-customer.
The news follows a host of significant upgrades to the EX90 that include a new, more dependable electronic control module (ECM) and 800V system architecture for faster charging and upgraded ADAS that improves the automatic emergency steering functions and Park Pilot assistant.
Electrek’s Take
You can’t spend years telling everyone you’re miles ahead because you have LiDAR, then ditch LiDAR, and pretend no one is going to call you out on it. They had better hope they don’t up on Mark Rober’s YouTube channel doing a Wile E. Coyote impression (above).
That said, it’ll be interesting to see if ditching the LiDAR has a negative impact there. Or, frankly, whether ditching the LiDAR and its heavy compute loads will actually help mitigate some of the EX90’s niggling software issues. It could go either way, really – and I’m not quite sure which it will be. Let us know which way you think it’ll go in the comments.
SOURCE: Luminar, via SEC filing; featured image by Volvo.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The new John Deere Z370RS Electric ZTrak zero turn electric riding mower promises all the power and performance Deere’s customers have come to expect from its quiet, maintenance-free electric offerings – but with an all new twist: removable batteries.
The latest residential ZT electric mower from John Deere features a 42″ AccelDeep mower deck for broad, capable cuts through up to 1.25 acres of lawn per charge, which is about what you’d expect from the current generation of battery-powered Deeres – but this is where the new Z370RS Electric ZTrak comes into its own.
Flip the lid behind the comfortably padded yellow seat and you’ll be greeted by six (6!) 56V ARC Lithium batteries from electric outdoor brand EGO. Those removable batteries can be swapped out of the Z370RS for fresh ones in seconds, getting you back to work in less time than it takes to gravity pour a tank of gas.
And, because they’re EGO batteries, they can be used in any 56V-powered EGO-brand tools and minibikes for unprecedented cross-brand interoperability. Tools and minibikes that, it should be noted, can be purchased at John Deere dealers across the country.
The upsell scripts write themselves, kids. And when you start your dialing, tell your prospective customers their new Z370RS Electric ZTrak electric mower lists for $6,499, and if you order now we can bundle it with EGO minibike for the kiddos – just in time for the holidays!
Electrek’s Take
When John Deere launched the first Z370R, Peter Johnson wrote that electrifying lawn equipment needs to be a priority, citing EPA data that showed gas-powered lawnmowers making up five percent of the total air pollution in the US (despite covering far less than 5% of the total miles driven on that gas). “Moreover,” he writes, “it takes about 800 million gallons of gasoline each year (with an additional 17 million gallons spilled) to fuel this equipment.”
It should go without saying, then, that states like California, which are banning small off-road combustion engines, have the right idea.
SOURCE | IMAGES: John Deere.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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