The U.S. federal board managing Puerto Rico’s finances will consider fast-tracking four energy projects that would invest a combined $1.47 billion in the island’s decimated power grid, Reuters reported. The board said yesterday that it was opening a 30-day public comment period on the four proposals, which include a controversial waste-to-energy incinerator plan by New York-based Energy Answers International Inc. “In total, the four projects represent close to $1.5 billion in investment — almost all of which will be private capital — and have the potential to generate more than 8,200 direct, indirect and induced jobs,” the board said in statement, adding that final decisions would come by early April. The island’s power utility, known as PREPA, was already bankrupt when the storm hit, laden with some $9 billion in debt and outdated infrastructure.
