environment + Sustainability
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The AEG solar hybrid generator serves La Perla de Gran Precio, a shelter for women.
Tom Lewis, U.S. division president at Louis Berger, andWilliamVillafañe, Puerto Rico’s government chief of staff representing Governor Ricardo Rosselló, discuss the project.
As part of Louis Berger’s Solutions for a Better World commitment, the La Perla de Gran Precio’s project is a pro bono demonstration to provide solar-hybrid and microgrid solutions to power the buildings of the La Perla de Gran Pecio shelter for women as well as its associated Hogar El Pequeño Joshua shelter for children in the rural mountain village of Barrio Nuevo. Distributed microgrids: Cleaner and more resilient While the devastation to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria was widespread, the most consequential damage was done to the island’s central power grid. Destruction on this scale, with more than half of the territory’s energy customers left without power even months after the hurricane, created a situation in which long-term rebuilding efforts needed to be considered alongside immediate disaster relief efforts. The vulnerability of a central power grid in a region prone to hurri- canes was made clear by the impact of Hurricane Maria; an updated version of Puerto Rico’s previously existing power grid would pres- ent the same vulnerabilities. However, innovations in engineering and technology offer an alternative solution in rebuilding the island’s energy infrastructure. Through a combination of microgrids, renew- able energy sources, and solar-hybrid generators, Louis Berger is demonstrating the potential for a cleaner and more resilient system for Puerto Rico’s future. Distributed microgrids reduce the infrastructure required to deliver power from a central grid to users spread over a large area, eliminat- ing unnecessary power lines and reducing the frequency of equipment failures. In addition to providing more reliable power with less vulner- ability, the distributed microgrid system can also be expanded rapidly, allowing governments and energy companies to respond quickly to shifts in demand by implementing new energy sources. Distributed microgrid systems also produce significantly less greenhouse gas emis- sions than a central power grid, delivering an immediate and tangible environmental benefit.
Rebuilding better in Puerto Rico
Louis Berger demonstrates the potential of new distributed energy sources to provide disaster relief and lessen the impact of future catastrophes.
For more than three months in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, large swaths of Puerto Rico were left without power. As the territory worked to restore its central power grid, thousands of workers from the U.S. government and private sector landed in Puerto Rico to lend expertise and manpower to a growing humanitarian crisis. Louis Berger, a global professional services corporation with headquarters in Morristown, N.J., sent more than 900 staff and contractors to Puerto Rico; the com- pany’s established track record of disaster relief has included rebuild- ing efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Following two devastating hurricanes, the scale of the destruction throughout Puerto Rico was massive, demanding unprecedented re- sources and labor to restore power to an island of 3.4 million people. But while the Puerto Rican recovery effort demanded immediate action to deliver relief, it also presented the possibility of developing a more reliable and efficient power supply network through the rebuilding process. Focusing on “building back better,” Louis Berger identified an oppor- tunity to provide temporary power to concentrated areas through the use of distributed microgrids. Specifically, Louis Berger worked with the government of Puerto Rico and three partners — Westgen, AEG, and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University — to restore power to the community of La Perla de Gran Pecio in the municipality of Bayamón.
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csengineermag.com
may 2018
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