DOE Guarantees $860M Loan for Puerto Rico Solar, Battery Storage

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Loan Programs Office (LPO), is set to guarantee an $861.3 million loan to finance the construction of two solar PV farms equipped with battery storage and two standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Puerto Rico. 

The Project Marahu facilities will be located in the municipalities of Guayama and Salinas and are expected to help deliver clean power throughout Puerto Rico. 

The borrower is Clean Flexible Energy, an indirect subsidiary of The AES Corporation and TotalEnergies Holdings USA that is managed under a joint venture agreement between the two companies. 

“President Biden and Vice President Harris understand that access to reliable energy is a matter of life or death, especially in the face of climate-change fueled natural disasters that are increasing in intensity and frequency,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. 

“Today’s announcement will help add up to 200 MW of solar generation and another 285 MW of reliable storage capacity to Puerto Rico’s electric grid to improve the grid’s resilience and help reduce energy costs that have remained too high for too long for too many families, all while enabling the Commonwealth to reach its ambitious climate goals.” 

As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to build an equitable clean energy future, LPO borrowers are expected to develop and ultimately implement a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan. That plan is being finalized for the Marahu project.

The Project Marahu team includes two community relations managers who are from the Guayama community and a group of local community engagement advisors. 

This project is financed through the  Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program under Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Section 1706. Created by the Inflation Reduction Act, EIR can finance projects that retool, repower, repurpose or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilize or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. 

Project Marahu will assist in replacing coal energy infrastructure with clean energy facilities. The Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act requires Puerto Rico’s utility to cease all coal-fired energy generation by 2028 and shift to a 100% renewable energy mix by 2050.