I denna 24 juli, 2018 foto, Julio Rosario installerar ett solenergisystem i ett hem i Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Den ideella miljögruppen Casa Pueblo har installerat solsystem i två järnaffärer, en frisersalong och flera hörnbutiker som aktivister hoppas kommer att fungera som en kraftoas där människor kan ladda sina telefoner och lagra mediciner under en storm om det behövs. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
Tio månader efter orkanen Maria, Adjuntas tappar fortfarande ström varje gång ett kraftigt regn eller vind slår mot de rangliga kraftledningarna som matar denna stad högt uppe i de centrala bergen i Puerto Rico.
Det lämnar sina 20, 000 människor återigen i mörkret, utan ljus, färskvatten eller luftkonditionering – förutom en handfull hem och företag som lyser på natten tack vare solenergi.
Folket i Adjuntas kallar dessa platser "cucubanos, "en inhemsk puertoricansk eldfluga. De är en del av en liten men växande rörelse för att ge USA:s territorium hållbara, förnybar energi oberoende av det förfallna elnätet.
En spridning av järnaffärer, frisersalonger och hörnbutiker över hela ön anammar solenergi, försöker avvänja sig från ett statligt ägt kraftbolag som fortfarande är starkt beroende av importerad petroleum. Siffrorna är fortfarande små – några dussin eller hundratals av miljoner energianvändare – men kraftbranschens tjänstemän och miljöpartister tittar noga på detta som ett test på om Puerto Rico kan göra en storskalig byte till förnybar energi, off-grid energi.
För närvarande, förnybar energi representerar 4 procent av produktionen hos Puerto Ricos kraftbolag, mot ett nationellt genomsnitt i USA på 15 procent, så det kommer sannolikt att dröja år innan solenergi kan stå för en betydande andel av Puerto Rico -kraften.
På detta foto från 20 juli, solpaneler installerade av Tesla, driver ett samhälle med 12 bostäder i bergstaden Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. Las Piedras har fortfarande inte ström från det nationella nätet, mer än 10 månader efter orkanen Maria och fungerar nu uteslutande på solenergi. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
Ändå, "Puerto Rico kan vara en experimentell verkstad för sol och vind, "Representant Darren Soto, en Florida-demokrat, sa vid en utfrågning i kongressen på onsdagen.
Medan Adjuntas är översållad med soldrivna öar, en gemenskap med 12 hem i bergsstaden Las Piedras saknar fortfarande central kraft och arbetar uteslutande på solenergi från Tesla, den högteknologiska tillverkaren av elbilar och andra kraftprodukter. Den installerade 160 solpaneler på en tomt som ägs av bosatt Jose Santana.
Santana, en elektroniktekniker, sa att han älskar smartphone-appen som låter honom övervaka de solladdade Tesla-batterierna. Han sa att regeringen borde överväga att använda solenergi och dumpa det nuvarande "åldriga" elnätet.
"Det här kan dra oss ur den röra vi är i, " sa han. "Det är inget fel med att ha en vision om framtiden. Det är dags att börja göra förändringar."
På detta foto från 20 juli, Jose Santana poserar för en bild som visar sin telefonapp där han kan övervaka energiproduktionen och förbrukningen av solsystemet i sitt hem i Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. Santana, en 64-årig elektroniktekniker, säger att han älskar smartphone-appen som låter honom övervaka de solladdade Tesla-batterierna. Han sa att regeringen borde överväga att gå på solceller och dumpa det nuvarande "arkaiska" elnätet. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
Som i Las Piedras, vissa solenergianvändare förlitar sig på att företag och ideella grupper donerar den dyra utrustningen. Andra har blivit så upprörda över fortsatta avbrott att de tar på sig att installera sina egna system.
"Jag är musiker. Jag har en salsaorkester. Jag kan ingenting om elektricitet, sa Felix Torres, som nyligen installerade nio solpaneler på taket av sitt hem, uppflugen på ett berg i den östra staden Caguas. "Jag var rädd för att få elektricitet och skada utrustning värd tusentals dollar... Men vi borde inte vara så beroende av regeringen. De har redan händerna fulla."
Torres recently joined nearly two dozen other people at a three-day workshop to learn about the costs and lifespans of solar systems, the equipment required and precautions they need to consider. The clip-clop of horses interrupted their chatter as the sun set on hills where electricity returned several months ago.
Many at the workshop pulled out their power bills along with pens and notebooks as they made comparisons and shared their frustrations. Among them was Jose Barreto, who set up a makeshift solar system at his house in the mountain town of Guavate.
In this July 20 photo, a trailer with batteries and inverters from the Tesla, is parked on top of a hill in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. Las Piedras still lacks central power is operating exclusively on solar energy provided by Tesla, the high-tech maker of electric cars and other power products, which installed 160 solar panels on a plot of land owned by resident Jose Santana. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
"It hasn't collapsed because God is merciful, " han sa, grumbling that his wife insists on washing and ironing at night, sucking up precious battery life. "I tell her, look, this is a lifestyle that runs on daytime hours."
A few hundred Puerto Ricans still haven't recovered electricity service since Hurricane Maria hit Sept. 20, and millions suffer periodic outages. Crews are trying to fortify the unstable grid in the middle of this year's hurricane season. When the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl passed through in early July, up to 47, 000 customers were left without lights, although most of the power was restored the same day.
In Las Piedras, Blanca Martinez, a retired school bus driver who is married to Santana, started to weep as she described the happiness of having a solar-powered home.
"It's sometimes hard to explain, " she said. "When you're a person who is in need, who is suffering, this comes along and you have light without having to worry whether a wire fell."
In this July 20 photo, solar panels installed by Tesla, power a community of 12 homes in the mountain town of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. The homes still do not have power from the national grid, more than 10 months after Hurricane Maria and now is operating exclusively on solar energy. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
Another corporation, German-based sonnen, helped donate and install at least 15 solar microgrids across the island to help power laundromats, skolor, community centers and medical clinics.
Adam Gentner, the company's director of business development and Latin American expansion, said the aim is to create a resilient system that can operate regardless of weather conditions.
Denna vecka, Siemens published a report in which it envisions the construction of 10 mini-grids across Puerto Rico that would depend on renewable energy. Unlike microgrids, officials said, mini-grids are bigger and can use the current distribution infrastructure.
In Adjuntas, the nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo has installed solar systems at two hardware stores, a barber shop and several small stores that activists hope will serve as power oases where people can charge their phones and store medications during a storm if needed. In upcoming months, some 30 homes also will be fitted with the system.
In this July 20 photo, a sign in Spanish that reads "Attention government, AEE. Montones wants light. Six months without light, " hangs from a pole in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. A scattering of hardware stores, barbershops and corner stores across the island are embracing solar energy, trying to wean themselves off a state-owned power company that remains heavily dependent on petroleum. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
Wilfredo Perez said he can now open his barbershop 11 hours a day, six days a week thanks to the new system.
"Since it was installed, it hasn't failed me, " han sa, adding that he hasn't had to switch over to the power company's system. "The electricity in Puerto Rico doesn't work."
Federal officials are growing more worried about the turmoil at Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, which has seen five directors since Hurricane Maria. A U.S. House committee held a hearing Wednesday on the company's troubles.
Officials have stressed the need to depoliticize the company, create an independent regulator and resolve its $9 billion public debt as it prepares to privatize power generation and award concession for transmission and distribution.
In this July 24, 2018 foto, Julio Rosario, höger, and his team instal a solar energy system in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. The nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo has installed solar systems at two hardware stores, one barber shop and several corner stores that activists hope will serve as a power oasis where people can charge their phones and store medications during a storm if needed. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
None of this worries Arturo Massol, associate director of Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas.
"Let them do what they want over there, " he said. "We're taking control of our energy destiny."
In this July 24, 2018 foto, a technician instals a solar energy system at a home in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. In upcoming months, some 30 homes will be fitted with the system. In upcoming months, some 30 homes also will be fitted with the system. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
In this July 24, 2018 foto, a set of solar charged batteries power Edilberto Rivera's restaurant in Adjuntas, Puerto rico. The system was provided by the nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo. The nonprofit has installed solar systems at two hardware stores, a barber shop and several small stores that activists hope will serve as power oases where people can charge their phones and store medications during a storm if needed. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
In this July 24, 2018 foto, Julio Rosario, vänster, instals a solar energy system with the founder of the nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo Alexis Masol, in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. The nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo has installed solar systems at two hardware stores, one barber shop and several corner stores that activists hope will serve as a power oasis where people can charge their phones and store medications during a storm if needed. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
In this July 24, 2018 foto, Sergio Vega, owner of the Olympia corner store poses for a photo at his business in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Vega's shop is power by a solar energy system provided by the nonprofit environmental group Casa Pueblo. (AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
In this July 24, 2018 foto, barber Wilfredo Perez poses for a photo in front of his solar powered barber shop in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Perez says he can now open his barbershop 11 hours a day, six days a week thanks to the new system.(AP Photo/ Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)
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