Can solar energy speed Puerto Rico's recovery? Here's what it would take
Six months after Hurricane Maria, and whole towns in Puerto Rico still remain without power. Many think solar energy can help the recovery, but making renewables a mainstay will require more...
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NSIKAN AKPAN: When Hurricane Maria hit, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority had been relying on imported fossil fuels for 98 percent of its energy. Its major plants beam power from the south to the heavily populated north and west. The storm flooded these power stations, ripped out 65 percent of aboveground cables and crippled the power supply. Many are wondering if this commonwealth would be better off being powered by solar. But solar is not an easy fix. Here are four things that Puerto Rico would need to make solar work. Ingredient 1: Solar batteries... Solar panels can withstand hurricanes even Maria's 155 mile per hour winds failed to knock out solar power at the Veterans Medical Center in San Juan. But cloudy weather and the darknes...
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NSIKAN AKPAN: When Hurricane Maria hit, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority had been relying on imported fossil fuels for 98 percent of its energy. Its major plants beam power from the south to the heavily populated north and west. The storm flooded these power stations, ripped out 65 percent of aboveground cables and crippled the power supply. Many are wondering if this commonwealth would be better off being powered by solar. But solar is not an easy fix. Here are four things that Puerto Rico would need to make solar work. Ingredient 1: Solar batteries... Solar panels can withstand hurricanes even Maria's 155 mile per hour winds failed to knock out solar power at the Veterans Medical Center in San Juan. But cloudy weather and the darknes...
