P.R. Laws tit. 22, § 1012
To be eligible for this benefit, the solar electric equipment, windmill, or other source of sustainable or alternative renewable energy, as such terms are defined in §§ 10421 et seq. of Title 13, known as the “Green Energy Incentives Act of Puerto Rico”, must meet all the requirements established in the federal legislation and regulations applicable to net metering programs that allow for interconnection to the electric power grid. Unless otherwise provided, or unless another requirement is specifically imposed through the applicable Federal legislation or regulations to expressly prevent state legislation, every solar electric equipment unit, windmill or other source of sustainable or alternative renewable energy, as defined in §§ 10421 et seq. of Title 13, must meet the following requirements:
(a) Have a generating capacity of not more than twenty-five kilowatts (25kW) for residential customers and one megawatt (1MW) for commercial, governmental, industrial or agricultural customers, or educational institutions or medical-hospital facilities connected to distribution voltages (up to 13.2kW), and five megawatts (5MW) for commercial, governmental, industrial, or agricultural customers, or educational institutions or medical-hospital facilities connected to subtransmission or transmission voltages (38kW or 115kW);
(b) Be electrically connected after the customer’s meter.
(c) Conduct the operation compatible with the Electric Power Authority’s existing transmission and distribution facilities.
(d) Comply with the standards and specifications on minimum requirements of efficiency established by the Energy Affairs Administration or the government body designated for such purpose.
(e) Be installed by a licensed engineer or an expert electrician, both of whom shall be members of their respective professional associations and, in accordance with §§ 711—711z of Title 20, and §§ 2701 et seq. of Title 20, respectively, must have approved continuing education courses offered by their corresponding professional associations about the installation of distributed generation equipment based on any type of renewable energy and interconnection, measuring, and testing rules of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Such professionals shall register with the Commonwealth Energy Public Policy Office, furnishing a certified copy issued by the professional association of which they are members, attesting to the approval of the required continuing education courses, which shall be in effect for four (4) years after approval, and by furnishing a copy of their engineer license or expert electrician license, as the case may be;
(f) Be guaranteed for five (5) years or more by the manufacturer or distributor.
(g) Provide that it be used primarily to offset part or all of the customer’s electric energy demand.
(h) Every installation shall incorporate emission and noise control and mitigation measures, if applicable due to the nature of the equipment, and the operation thereof shall comply with environmental, zoning and use laws and regulations in effect for the location site; if there are no regulations in effect for said type of equipment or location site, said matter shall be addressed in the regulations to be created pursuant to this chapter.
(i) All installations shall meet the interconnection and operation requirements set forth in the regulations of the Electric Power Authority. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a suspension from the Net Metering Program. However, the Electric Power Authority shall not suspend or cancel any Net Metering Program agreement in a capricious manner, or suspend or cancel any Net Metering Program agreement for installations that at all times meet the interconnection and operation requirements set forth in the regulations of the Electric Power Authority in effect at the time of the execution of the Net Metering agreement, nor impair contractual obligations.
History —Aug. 16, 2007, No. 114, § 2; Aug. 9, 2008, No. 211, § 1; June 2, 2012, No. 103, § 1; May 27, 2014, No. 57, § 5.1.