RE:RE:RE:RE:FOMB responseI am perplexed by Jaresko and the FOMB Board Members' response to the Congressional Oversight Committee. The FOMB appears to be either clueless about solar or against renewables in general.
From putting together solar projects in New England, I know they are not interchangeable widgets. It appears the FOMB thinks the process should have worked the same as asking 10 suppliers to give their best price on 10,000 #2 pencils. Then PREPA would pick the lowest bidder if it fit their 20 year budget projections.
That seems moronic too me. Each solar project has it's own unique costs and benefits, advantages and disadvantages to the utility. Montalva's line upgrades and battery storage will strengthen the grid right where the recent earthquake made it weakest. That alone adds value that reduces the price per megawatt to the system as a whole and creates greater security for electricity users throughout, but especially in the power starved Southern part of the island.
Jaresko replied to the the Congressional Natural Resource Committee: "...none of the Proposed Contracts were procured competitively." How was PREPA supposed to make it more competitive? Everyone who had a viable solar project and wanted a PPOA Agreement provided their best price. Is a project only "competitive" if it meets the budget projections? Does she think there are a bunch of biomass or wind projects waiting in the wings to undercut the solar projects' price quotes by a big margin?
This is the deep insight and analysis we get from a $640k / year civil servant? How many more months will solar progress be stalled while these bureaucrats dither on and on? I hope Grijalva and the rest of his committee give her the opportunity to bring her expertise full-time to the private sector right away. I'm sure Luma Energy will be billing Puerto Rico's electricity users for vetting all the solar projects that don't make whatever cut the FOMB enforces here. Perhaps Luma will hire her for that job.