Empowering Culebra

The municipal island of Culebra is located to the northeast of our mainland with a population of approximately 1,400. The island received proper energy supply by March 2019, almost a year and a half after Hurricane María hit our shores. Since we had already empowered, through a participatory process, the first solar community in Toro Negro – Ciales, where 20 energy systems form the community’s solar microgrid providing energy to 28 residences that benefit more than 70 residents, we set a goal to transform Culebra’s energy system into a renewable energy system.

Since the beginning of the year we have engaged in conversations with key community-based organizations committed in a renewable energy future for the island, such as: Sanarte, Mujeres de Islas, Salud para Culebra, Foundation for a Better Puerto Rico and Fundación de Culebras. We’ve also had extensive conversations with the Mayor of Culebra, who is committed with the initiative and has vowed to become a strategic partner authorizing Fundación Comunitaria to use all sites and rights of way owned by the municipality of Culebra for the installation, operations and management of the community solar energy and storage infrastructure.

We’ve also engaged key philanthropic partners, initially: Prudential and GlobalGiving; and as of two weeks EDA (Economic Development Administration) with a $4 million grant. EDA’s grant needs a $1 million matching of funds. We will be submitting grants awarded by GlobalGiving and Prudential as part of the matching goal. Our goal is to raise the remaining $780,000 by the end of the year 2019. EDA’s grant has put us back on the designing phase to scale up the project that will provide Culebra with a reliable solar energy infrastructure and to its residents a more resilient island.

• Press Release EDA (PDF)