PUERTO RICO

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), the country’s public utility, had just rolled out a strict set of minimum-technical requirements (MTRs) when Sonnedix entered the market in 2011. The specifics of the requirements were more demanding than those launched in other jurisdictions around the world, and as such, Sonnedix faced challenges on two fronts: building plants on challenging landscapes and ensuring they complied with a previously unmet set of regulations.

Sonnedix tapped into relationships with suppliers around the world to combine their expertise with the company’s experience to develop an operational formula that not only successfully complied with PREPA’s MTRs, but was also the first of its kind in the world.

When construction on Salinas, Sonnedix’s first plant in Puerto Rico, was ready to begin in 2014, the company worked closely with the mayor of Salinas to hire workers through its employment office. This effort was successfully replicated in Isabela for the Oriana project and is now a standard in how Sonnedix recruits workers for the construction of its projects. In addition to providing direct local jobs, it creates a sense of pride and ownership in the communities. Sonnedix also makes an impact in the community through its environmental mitigation efforts, such as planting 3,800 trees at a natural reserve in Isabela, and social development initiatives, like offering a scholarship program through the University of Puerto Rico’s electrical engineering school to provide funds for tuition, as well as hands-on experience through summer internships, to one student a year.