Sunrun Brings Batteries And Solar To Puerto Rico

Sunrun Inc. is now offering solar-as-a-service and home batteries to households in Puerto Rico. With Sunrun’s Brightbox home solar and battery service, Puerto Ricans now have peace of mind during outages and the freedom to create and store energy to power their homes.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, nearly all of Puerto Rico lost power. Thousands of residents remain without power even today, and those who do have basic electric services experience frequent blackouts. Brightbox can be installed in as little as a day and, unlike a generator, is recharged daily by the sun and reliably delivers clean electricity.

“Sunrun is proud to support Puerto Rico’s vibrant solar economy by creating jobs and offering residents the freedom to make their own energy,” said Lynn Jurich, Sunrun Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. “Puerto Rico is embracing the opportunity to rebuild a cleaner and more resilient electricity grid with home solar and batteries. The island can be a model for America’s future energy system.”

Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares said: “We welcome and thank Sunrun for providing us with a solution of alternative clean energy and continuing to be part of the journey of progress and development towards a self-sustained power grid for Puerto Ricans.”

Sunrun will partner with local sales and installation teams to deliver its service, creating new employment opportunities for residents. As one of the fastest-growing sectors in the American economy, the home solar industry is ushering in a new energy era.

Puerto Rico is ideally suited for solar energy. The mountainous geography and extreme weather make traditional delivery of electricity — via centralized generation and bulky power lines — vulnerable to damage and expensive to build. As an island with limited land available, residential solar is particularly attractive because rooftop solar uses existing infrastructure, keeping costs low and maintenance at a minimum.

As the electricity grid modernizes, distributed energy resources such as home batteries, together with new digital technologies, will create a more responsive, efficient and resilient energy system designed around consumers and their needs. The energy stored in home batteries can also be aggregated and deployed during peak demand or outages creating a more resilient overall energy system, as well as delivering individual home backup power.

Sunrun was one of the the first national solar companies to send aid to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Sunrun partnered with non-profits Empowered By Light and GivePower to deliver solar and battery systems that ensured fire stations could continue to provide essential emergency services to people across the island. Sunrun’s solar systems have powered these essential services uninterrupted since install and through the longest blackout in American history.

With operations in 23 states, the District of Columbia and now Puerto Rico, Sunrun is America’s leading solar, storage and energy services company. Sunrun has provided its premium solar-as-a-service to American households for more than 11 years.