Historicizing Puerto Rico’s Energy Present: A Political Ecology and Environmental Justice Approach to Energy Production in Puerto Rico
The collapse of Puerto Rico’s energy system after Hurricane María opened the door for a more sustainable and resilient system, as many stakeholders, including community leaders, demanded a move toward distributed and renewable energy sources. Instead, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) and LUMA Energy’s new proposals further anchored the system’s future developments to “natural” gas and oil. Utilizing grey literature (i.e., reports, books, articles, newspapers and policy documents), this essay applies historical political ecology and environmental justice to explore events that have led to the selection of electricity fuels and infrastructure throughout time, which have had implications for the natural environment and local communities. The paper concludes with lessons learned and why these findings matter for present and future energy-scapes. [Keywords: energy, environmental justice, historical analysis, political ecology, Puerto Rico].
