Puerto Rico to Boost Wind, Solar to Bolster Grid, Rossello Says

(Bloomberg) -- Puerto Rico should boost its use of wind and solar electricity to provide for as much as 25 percent of the island’s electricity, its governor said Tuesday.  

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which wiped out the territory’s power, the island’s grid needs to be transformed, Governor Ricardo Rossello told a Senate panel.

Even before the storm, Puerto Rico’s decades-old energy system was known to be dirty, inefficient and vulnerable, with most of the production in the south and the demand in the northern part of the island. Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk exchanged messages with Rossello on Twitter after the storm about how best to restore power. Tesla, a maker of electric cars, also sells batteries to consumers to combine with rooftop solar systems.

"We certainly see a collaboration with the private sector," Rossello said, adding that the details still need to be "ironed out."

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Mark Drajem, Elizabeth Wasserman

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