Day 3: University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez

Monday was a full day of learning about the challenges of implementing community-scale microgrids as we met for the 2nd consecutive year with the professors and students at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. To improve outcomes for the communities they serve, their programs are interdisciplinary; we met with engineering, sociology, biology, mathematics, and psychology students over the course of five hours of lectures and small group discussions.

Our team was equally diverse and had a lot of questions that made for a very dynamic learning session. Discussion topics ranged from the methodology of creating community partnerships, to the software used to monitor and analyze program outcomes, to the legal, technical, and political challenges of creating independent water and energy systems.

On Tuesday, we will go with some of the professors and students to visit three of the communities they work with. It will be interesting to see how some of the projects are occurring in real life and to meet with community leaders to hear their thoughts.