Page 62 - Green Builder Magazine Jan-Feb 2018 Issue

Storm warning. Hurricane Maria
was one of two to hit Puerto Rico
in September 2017. The mass
destruction has officials CREDIT: ANTTI LIPPONEN/FLICKR
wondering what type of power
grid should go up in place of the
one that was destroyed.

Kauai has transformed its energy mix from 90 percent oil fired to The time is right to make Puerto Rico a proof positive of what
40 percent renewable (with over 90 percent solar and battery during can be achieved if we embrace the opportunity of climate change to
the mid-day peak) in just a few short years. create jobs and improve the well-being and prosperity of our people.
We human beings make sense of things from stories close to home.
The sum of all parts Scale can confound us. When the scale is too large, it can short-circuit
The bottom line is this: the imagination. It can throw the art of the possible for a loop.
What has been destroyed needs to be rebuilt. Why not build it But what has happened to Puerto Rico could also be a turning point.
in a way that allows Puerto Rico to generate its own electricity in A proof point. An opportunity to imagine and rebuild at a scale that
ways that are more resilient to next year’s hurricanes, better for its all can see and understand.
own economy, and less expense for its consumers and businesses? Yes, this is about alleviating the suffering of our American
There are some things beyond our control but regulatory policies neighbors in Puerto Rico right now. But it also about how the United
are not. Here are a few that need to be changed if we are to create a States of America protects our people in the future from the very
safer, more reliable and more prosperous energy future in Puerto Rico. real present danger posed by climate change.
■ Realigning the profit motive from pure consumption of kilowatt We have the power to change and adapt.
hours to paying for the maintenance of a resilient and dynamic grid. As Americans, we have proven time and again that adaptation and
■ Creating a predictable and guaranteed pathway for feed-in tariffs, change are our great strengths.
and mutually beneficial utility and customer incentives to get more It is time to call into service the American innovation and
renewables on the grid quickly. technology that already exists.
■ Building out the smaller generation and storage capacities of It is time to call forward the goodness within us in rebuilding
micro-grid nodes like universities, business parks, hotels and critical Puerto Rico.
infrastructure like hospitals, emergency shelters, drinking water systems, Small things done well make bigger things possible.
telecom, airport and seaport facilities, and police and fire facilities. We might just learn something by doing what is right and needed.
■ Taking out PREPA’s indebtedness so Puerto Rico can build a We might just remember we are capable of accomplishing great
foundation of its new economy that will allow the island to pay off things. GB
its debts by propelling its economy into a more prosperous, lower-
cost energy future. Martin O’Malley served as governor of Maryland from 2007 to
These are all human constructs, human choices and human policy 2015 and as mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. He has lead
choices. The engineering know-how is here. The urgency of this new widespread sustainability initiatives, from massive cleanup efforts in
normal weather threat is here. Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is here and the Chesapeake Bay to strong advocacy for a 100 percent national
it has its roots in overpriced, fossil-fueled electricity. renewable energy mandate by 2030.

60 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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