Clean Energy Spotlight: Javier Rúa-Jovet

This week's spotlight is a lawyer and public servant turned chief policy officer who is also one of our Faces of Clean Energy. Javier Rúa-Jovet is the current chief policy officer for SESA-PR, the Solar & Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico. There, he helps “manage all regulatory, legislative, and  administrative/governmental affairs efforts.” SESA-PR represents “Puerto Rico’s solar and storage industries bringing reliable, clean, affordable and local energy to the island.” Javier also helps to draw awareness of these innovations to policymakers and the public alike to facilitate “collaboration and good business practices within the [clean energy] industry.” Rúa-Jovet previously served as the director of public policy for SunRun, the largest rooftop PV company in the U.S. 

Puerto Rico's electricity costs are the second highest in the U.S. And in 2017, Hurricane Maria exposed the vulnerability of the island’s energy grid — with terrible consequences. “Over 3,000 Puerto Ricans died because of lack of basic energy to refrigerate their food, medicine, etc,” Rúa-Jovet said in a recent CE4A virtual webinar on environmental justice. He believes that “more “solar plus storage” would have saved lives.” 

That is why he advocates solar and energy storage as a solution to the energy needs of Puerto Rico. In 2019, Rúa-Jovet helped draft the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act [17-2019] which “establishes a renewable energy target of 100% by 2050 and requires the government-owned utility to…reduce the use of fossil fuels…greenhouse gas emissions, and support initiatives… that focus on mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.” 

Not only is his work and advocacy good for the environment, but it's also electrifying Puerto Rico’s economy by bringing a wave of high-paying skilled trades to the island — and helping consumers there save money. 

Thank you, Javier, for your commitment to “deploy[ing] lifesaving, resilient approaches to clean energy.”