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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been in talks with Puerto Rico’s officials regarding a proposed solar power grid to restore the devastated island’s electricity. Much of the US territory’s population still don’t have access to power due to the sheer havoc caused by two consecutive hurricanes. If these talks come to fruition, it could lead to the privatization of Puerto Rico’s power industry.
It seems that the main driving force behind this proposal on Puerto Rico’s side is Manuel Laboy, the secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. It would seem that he has been speaking to Musk in the hopes of transforming the island’s power structure, which is several decades old, Bloomberg reports.
Apparently, the two parties have been in contact even before Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, with discussions involving sprucing up the inefficient power systems in the region that often lead to problems. The plan would involve creating several areas where Tesla could install microgrids filled with its Powerpack storage batteries.
On the matter of privatization, Laboy clarified that not everything will be left up to Tesla. Generating the power and storing electricity will be the private company’s job. However, the energy transmission will be handled by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Laboy even added that there will likely be a bidding process as to which private company will provide Puerto Rico with energy.
Several experts have expressed skepticism with regards to this particular model, Futurism reports. It would seem that while many believe that customers would reap the benefits of a privatized energy grid, the same could not be said for the workers.
Then again, this arrangement could prove to be a boon for the renewable energy industry as a whole. Powering an entire island with as much attention being directed at it like Puerto Rico would show the world that solar power is not only cheap, it’s positively the most logical solution to energy problems.
