Borrego Solar Expands in Puerto Rico as Island Extends Subsidies

"There’s very strong potential for solar here in Puerto Rico for a number of reasons, not least the new net metering rules," Sarly said by telephone. "It also benefits from a very high cost of power, which is a function of it being an island grid with about 70 percent of generation from oil."

New regulations extend the metering system to solar plants of as much as 5 megawatts, compared with a previous 1-megawatt limit, according to Sarly. Such plants can also apply for local cash grants covering as much as 50 percent of project costs.

The extension opens up the policy to utility-scale plants, which have a capacity of at least 1 megawatt.