Could Puerto Rico soon be powered by energy from the Dominican Republic? That could be the case if a plan presented by Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader comes to pass.
Listín Diario, a Spanish-language news outlet from the Dominican Republic, reported last week that Mr. Abinader announced a 2027 goal to create an energy surplus large enough to sell electricity to Puerto Rico, which is facing major challenges in stabilizing its grid in the aftermath of several major hurricanes in the past 7 years. He was speaking at the Conference on Infrastructure Investment in Latin-America and the Caribbean.
The electricity generated in the Dominican Republic would be transmitted through an underwater cable, such as the one proposed back in March by the Caribbean Transmission Development Company (CTDC).
CTDC is looking to run a bi-directional subsea transmission line (the Hostos project) between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The cable would be able to transport up to 700 megawatts of electricity, and would cost approximately $1 billion.
“With this interconnection, both nations will benefit from a more resilient grid, reducing the frequency of blackouts and optimizing the use of renewable energy,” read a press release on the subject.
A presidential permit must be issued for all projects between the United States and a foreign country. The Hostos project application for such a permit was submitted in March, and is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Department of Energy. “We have received positive reactions from all the persons engaged,” said CTDC.
