Sonnen, Pura Energía build solar systems in Puerto Rico as utility woes continue

Enlarge / Solar panels visible over the roof of a community kitchen in Humacao, PR. (credit: Sonnen)

German battery company Sonnen and its Puerto Rican solar-installing partner, Pura Energía, announced that they’ve installed six solar-plus-storage systems around Puerto Rico, and have plans for nine more. The initial six systems were donated, according to a press release from Sonnen, though it’s unclear whether the subsequent nine will be donated or funded by some other entity.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island more than ten weeks ago, Sonnen and its stationary-storage rival Tesla both promised to donate resources to help set up renewable energy systems and microgrids. (Tesla completed a solar-plus-storage installation at a children’s hospital in late October, though it didn’t release details about the size of the installation or its price.)

Since the hurricane, scandal after scandal have complicated the restoration of the island’s main grid, leaving residents relying on diesel or gas generators for power and making cheap, emission-free solar power all the more vital.