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Arturo Massol Deyá, associate director of the community-based environmental organization Casa Pueblo, warned that changes in energy policy in the United States and Puerto Rico could lead to mass outmigration.
“With energy, we must reach a consensus point where we all agree, and then we may need to take to the streets or take action,” Massol said over the weekend. “At Casa Pueblo, we will continue to set an example; we have documented what works. However, the threats we face are significant, and the implications of the current developments are overwhelming. The energy model being proposed could make it impossible to live in this country, forcing people to leave.”
Massol made the statements during the presentation of his book, “Democracy and Energy: Challenging the Economy of Fossil Fuels for a Country of Our Own,” at Taller Comunidad La Goyco in Santurce on Saturday.
Massol criticized plans for a new gas plant and a gas pipeline circuit, questioning their efficacy in solving the country’s energy problems. He was talking about a planned 478-megawatt (MW) generation plant, initially running on liquefied natural gas and with the capacity to operate on hydrogen in the future, that will be built by the consortium Energiza.
He also rejected a proposed underwater cable that will provide energy between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
“Now they say they will build a cable to receive electricity from the Dominican Republic, instead of establishing plants in Salinas, as if this will solve our issues, while trying to keep us reliant on gas,” Massol said.
He strongly opposed the establishment of new generation plants using methane gas, the continuation of coal burning beyond 2027, and the proposed connection to receive electricity from the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, he criticized the spending on a battery storage system for Genera PR plants, stating that such measures unjustifiably delay the transition to renewable energy and do not support the social and economic development of residents.
“They mention an investment of $800 million in batteries for all the thermoelectric plants of Genera Puerto Rico,” Massol said. “People think it’s great that batteries will help cushion blackouts, but the truth is these batteries are not intended to integrate renewable energy or move us to a sustainable future. They are meant to cover up the failures of Genera Puerto Rico, which has proven ineffective in operating and maintaining the plants it promised to fix. Because of their frequent failures, they need a backup, and they want the country to pay for it. This is a bizarre situation.”
“In a colonized country like this, the energy transformation must lead us toward our first independence — energy independence,” Massol said. “Among those who aspire to statehood and those who wish to confront colonial realities or advocate for the Republic of Puerto Rico, there is a consensus on the need to produce our own energy. This is essential for enhancing our productivity and improving daily life, as well as preparing for challenges posed by LUMA, Genera, earthquakes, climate change, and everything else affecting our country.”
