Puerto Rico is in the midst of a residential-solar surge, one catalyzed by concerns over an unreliable grid, high energy prices, and destructive storms. In the six years since Hurricane Maria, solar installations have increased tenfold to more than 3,000 each month. Around 82,000 homes now use rooftop solar. Most of them include batteries, so when the power goes out, their systems keep working.
But this powerful means of energy resilience remains beyond reach for hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans. The systems are expensive, and most people use leases or loans to afford them. Those with low incomes or credit scores are excluded from traditional solar financing.
A new program from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office takes aim at that problem. Last week, it finalized a $3 billion loan guarantee to Sunnova Energy, a residential…