The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has committed US$584.5 million to Convergent Energy and Power to build solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Puerto Rico.
Developer-operator Convergent received a conditional commitment of up to US$584.5 million from the LPO for its subsidiaries to build a solar-plus-storage system and three standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across Puerto Rico.
The 100MW solar PV system paired with a 55MW/55MWh BESS will be located in Coamo, Puerto Rico. The three standalone BESS systems will be located in the towns of Caguas, Peñuelas, and Ponce with a combined storage capacity of 915MWh.
The systems will generate power directly to Puerto Rico’s grid and help the US territory reach its goal of achieving 100% clean energy resources by 2050.
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Convergent CFO and Co-founder, Frank Genova said of the commitment: “Enhancing grid reliability and sustainability in Puerto Rico is critical. We applaud the Department of Energy for recognising Convergent Energy and Power’s track record of expertise in the energy storage and solar sectors through this conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office,”
“We look forward to contributing to the modernisation of Puerto Rico’s electric grid and advancing its clean energy goals.”
According to the PR100 study launched in February 2022 with funding from FEMA, Puerto Rico can transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. However, reaching this goal means the territory must significantly increase its new power generation infrastructure.
LPO borrowers are required to implement a community benefits plan (CBP) to ensure they engage with the community and labour groups to create good-paying jobs and improve the community’s well-being.
Convergent is evaluating potential workforce agreements and the company says it expects o establish apprenticeship programs to carry out at least 15% of total work hours.
This project meets the requirements of an Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) project under LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. EIR projects must also involve investments relating to existing energy infrastructure. As such, projects can be at various stages of execution, providing Convergent more flexibility for utilising the funds.
The DOE and its LPO continue a trend of soaring grant and loan activity after Donald Trump’s second term election, as reported by Energy-storage.news (Premium access article). Earlier this month, the DOE’s LPO offered Pacific Gas & Electric US$15 billion and Wisconsin Electric Power Company US$2.5 billion.
Project Maharu, 200MW of solar PV and 285MW/1,140MWh of BESS projects in Puerto Rico received a loan of US$861.3 million from the DOE in July.
In October, IPP Genera PR, which operates the majority of the power generation capacity in Puerto Rico, chose Tesla to provide the BESS technology for a 430MW/1,720MWh pipeline of projects in Puerto Rico. On 11 December, Convergent announced a deal with bank MUFG for US$150 million for near-term projects and a framework for future financing rounds.
