Powering Strong Communities
Distributed Energy Resources

DOE Unveils Over $1.2 Billion in Funding for Projects Contracted with Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority

On January 17, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico comprising over $1.2 billion in total.

The announcements each support a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to gradually replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel generation assets with renewable energy and battery storage systems through 2032.

The announcements include:

  • The closing a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy and Power Inc. (Convergent) to finance a 100-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) system with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh), and
  • A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of AL-Infinigen Operating, LP (Infinigen). for a 32.1 MW-ac solar PV system with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located, standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa, and
  • A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern) for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW-ac solar PV system with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.

If all finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.

LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024 and when complete will add more than 200 MW-AC of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.

Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia,  LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico.

As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.

Each of the projects announced Jan. 17 includes a significant amount of energy storage.

As part of its procurement plan, PREPA seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage be co-located with each utility-scale solar project.

These resources are integral not just because they enable PREPA’s goal of 3,750 MW solar, but because they add reliability and stability to PREPA’s system, DOE said.

When including Marahu,  LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity PREPA aimed to procured under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.