By: Preeya Ninan

Mooney, C. (2017, September 28). Severe power failures in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean spur new push for renewable energy. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/09/28/storm-driven-power-failures-in-the-caribbean-spur-new-interest-in-renewable-energy/

 

The Washington Post’s article, “Severe power failures in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean spur new push for renewable energy, ” written by Chris Mooney, discusses the events occurring after natural disasters in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean, and the countries’ responses to their intensely detrimental impacts. Mooney explains how the aftermath of these natural disasters resulted in a push for new methods of obtaining renewable energy. Due to Puerto Rico’s reliance on centralized power grids which run on fossil fuels, environmental disasters have left them vulnerable and powerless; experts say it will take about 6 months for all of the island to regain power. They are now pushing to move away from a centralized power grid, and towards smaller and more frequently placed grids that store energy in renewable resources. The push towards this new direction did not commence only after recent storms, but has been on the radar of the island nations due to their disposition to natural storms. Further, though, since the energy required for large, centralized power grids greatly exceeds that of smaller grids, this new direction is even further justified. The dire situation that Puerto Rico is in, considering it may be without power for 4 to 6 months, leaves it searching for the best option, and the best time to implement it.

The struggles and new movements of Puerto Rico and the other island nations are not unique to those smaller regions; the high energy requirement of centralized power grids raise questions for all nations. If the movement towards smaller, more frequently placed grids would significantly decrease reliance on fossil fuels and improve the state of the environment, it is something that nations all over the world should examine and consider for themselves.