Twelve members of Notre Dame's Energy Studies Minor traveled to Puerto Rico over spring break as part of the seminar "Puerto Rico: Roadmap to a Renewable Future." This is the fourth year that students have engaged with energy professionals and community organizers on the island to better understand the complexities of energy choices and the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations.
On the first day in San Juan, students experienced the history and culture of Puerto Rico by spending time in Old San Juan and the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Construction on this fort began in 1539 and saw Spanish, Dutch, and British armies fight to colonize the island before the United States took possession as a concession after the Spanish-American War. This history set the stage for a better understanding of the territorial or colonial underpinnings contributing to some of the island's challenges.
Monday began with a discussion of the overarching environmental issues and energy frustrations facing Puerto Ricans from lawyers Rafael Toro Ramirez and Rafael Barreto-Sola. The group then traveled south to Humacao to tour the El Coqui landfill, the island's only waste-to-energy facility. Directory of Operations Jaime Jaen explained the process and the challenges of dealing with waste on an island. Driving along the island's southern edge, students could observe many wind turbines taking advantage of the ocean breezes. By evening, the students settled into the mountain home of "Nani" Enid Gonzalez Aleman. The house is off the grid, relying on solar power and rainwater. It provided a lived experience of life with limited energy and water for four nights.
Most of the week in the mountains was spent learning and working in Adjuntas with two non-profits, Casa Pueblo and the Let's Share the Sun Foundation. Casa Pueblo is a community organization founded in 1980 by Goldman Prize Winner Alexis Massol González and his wife, Tinti Deyá Díaz, to protect the mountains from mining and later pipeline intrusions. Today, under the direction of their son, Arturo Massol-Deyá, Casa Pueblo is famous for its push to solarize homes in a place that had no power for eleven months following Hurricane Maria. Notre Dame alumni Bill and Nancy Jordan '85, co-founders of Let's Share the Sun, became integrated into the seminar by allowing students to contribute to solar installations on the homes of people with health issues requiring reliable electricity.
In addition to installing solar panels in Adjuntas, students had the opportunity to contribute to Casa Pueblo by painting part of a mural near an educational butterfly garden, planting coffee trees used to generate funds, and visiting a forest school where buses of Puerto Rican students learn about the importance of preserving the unique ecosystem and waterhead for much of the island. They also spent time in the town's high school, engaging students with engineering projects provided by Engineering Tomorrow. As engaging as all of the projects were, the interactions with the residents of Adjuntas were the most enriching for the students.
On the way back to San Juan on Friday, the group stopped at Dos Bocas Hydroelectric Power Plant. The staff led a tour of the 80-year-old facility and explained its inner workings. Puerto Rico once derived much of its power from dams, but silt buildup over time and a lack of maintenance has caused most of them to remain dormant. After leaving the mountains behind, the group was able to relax on a beach before returning to San Juan.
Students who participated in the trip were seniors Will Roberts, Fredy Tajiboy Espinoza, and Darien Vazquez; juniors Sean Egan, Mae Fischer, Amanda Handt, Bennett Schmitt, Pauline Wang, and Elena Que; and sophomores Kamryn DuQuesnay, Megan Klein, and Julia Meitner. Majors represented in the group were environmental, mechanical, and civil engineering, computer science, environmental science, anthropology, statistics, economics, applied mathematics and computational statistics, finance, and business analytics. The group was led by Henry J. Massman Professor Peter Burns, Ginger Sigmon, and Anne Berges Pillai. Chemical engineering PhD candidate Alejandro Chapero-Planell served as the teaching assistant.
For questions or more information, please contact Anne Berges Pillai.