By The Star Staff
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has revealed a plan to sell electricity to Puerto Rico supplied through an underwater cable, according to a Listin Diario report published this week.
During his participation in the Conference on Infrastructure Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean sponsored by the Caribbean Development Bank and the Financial Times on Wednesday, Abinader said his goal for 2027 is to create a large energy surplus in order to sell electricity to Puerto Rico that would be supplied through an underwater cable.
Abinader said the initiative seeks not only to strengthen the energy independence of the Dominican Republic, but also to position the neighboring nation as a key supplier for the U.S. island territory, which faces serious challenges in its electrical system.
The head of state added that the proposed project seeks to expand the Dominican Republic’s energy export capacity and help Puerto Rico stabilize its fragile electrical system, which has been severely set back by natural disasters, such as hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
In March, the Caribbean Transmission Development Company proposed a bidirectional, high-voltage direct current subsea transmission line from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic.
The proposed $1 billion underwater cable would operate at 320 kilovolt direct current with a capacity to transport electricity of up to 700 megawatts in either direction without interrupting the grid’s operations.
At the time, the firm said the proposed “Hostos” project, named after Puerto Rican educator and lawyer Eugenio María de Hostos, was under evaluation by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office for a presidential permit, a process required of all projects between the United States and a foreign country.
Abinader also reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the transition to renewable energy. He said the goal is that by 2030, 30% of the energy produced in the neighboring country will come from clean sources.
The strategy, he said, responds to the growing internal energy demand and the vision of positioning the Dominican Republic as a leader in energy sustainability in the Caribbean region.
The president emphasized the importance of continuing to strengthen the energy sector, highlighting that the aforementioned investments will satisfy internal demand and make the country a relevant player in the regional electricity market, with the capacity to export surpluses to Puerto Rico and other countries in the future.
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