Energy and agriculture were severely affected when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. To build resilience and sustainability, a team of researchers from Michigan and Puerto Rico will work with community partners to implement a system that couples food waste, gasification, energy production and enhanced agricultural production.
The project will include the design and establishment of four hybrid solar/biomass gasification micro-grid systems, and research on the sustainability of the system and the potential impact of its residues on the soil, as well as workshops to train community members on the construction of gasifiers. Researchers hope the project’s results will be replicable in other communities on the island and the Caribbean.
Students from U-M and universities in Puerto Rico will join forces with local agricultural and ecological nonprofits Casa Pueblo and Organización Boricuá to unite the food and energy sectors in Adjuntas, a small mountainside town 75 miles from San Juan. Adjuntas spent more than five months without electricity after Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico last September.
“The town itself has energy now, but many surrounding areas are still without electricity. It is not clear whether they will able to get back on the grid,” said Ivette Perfecto, professor of environment and sustainability, who’s leading the project.
The project will build on the work already done by Casa Pueblo, an organization of agroecological farmers with a long history of sustainable efforts in Puerto Rico.
Other collaborators on the project include Jose Alfaro, clinical assistant professor of environment and sustainability, who leads the Sustainability Without Borders group; John Vandermeer, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and environment and sustainability; Arturo Massol of Casa Pueblo; Katia Avilés of Organización Boricuá; Mariangie Ramos, Olgaly Ramos and Javier Lugo of the University of Puerto Rico-Utuado; and Gerson Beauchamp, Lorenzo Saliceti-Piazza and Yanira Sánchez de León of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
News & Resources:
- Puerto Rico: Networking to a Power Grid, Global Michigan multimedia feature, available in English and Spanish
- Reimagining Puerto Rico’s Energy and Food Systems Through Community Engagement and Industrial Symbiosis, Graham Sustainability Institute
- As Electricity Returns to Puerto Rico, Its People Want More Power, Scientific American, July 10, 2018
- U-M Graham Institute grants target sustainability challenges in Puerto Rico, Michigan, U-M News, May 21, 2018
