Borinquen Made2026-08-31 · Economia e política
Vocero: Rivera Schatz divulga expediente — Esencia sem água nem luz públicas
On August 31, 2026, El Vocero reported that Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz published Cabo Rojo Land Acquisition / Three Rules Capital’s brief and exhibits on the Esencia megaproject in Cabo Rojo, hours before the hearing on Senate Resolutions 9 and 459.
Exhibits total about 318 pages: hydrogeology, AAA and PREPA communications, DNER permits, caves/karst, Tourism recommendations and the Location Consultation. The brief, dated that same day and signed by Roberto Ruiz Vargas, asserts five axes: discretionary permitting phase closed; no public backup tie-in; own water and power; private capital; and — per the proponent — verbal agency opposition without a written equivalent in the administrative record that culminated in the consultation.
El Vocero summarizes demand: ~1,253,000 gallons per day potable via wells + reverse osmosis, and ~3.77 million gallons per day total counting irrigation. Irrigation (~2.41 MGD) is projected with tertiary-treated wastewater, not AAA water. AAA had certified (March 21, 2025) that Betances cannot take on 1.2–1.5 MGD more; at the August 27 hearing Ann Ventura reiterated existing infrastructure “does not have the capacity.” PREPA said Valle de Lajas irrigation runs at maximum and cannot back up the project.
On power, Esencia calculates ~12 MW demand and proposes ~68 MW photovoltaic with batteries (~16 h) and 12 MW private emergency generation — without LUMA or backup. Publishing the file ≠ building permit or proof of aquifer sustainability. CTPR credit/recommendation in the file ≠ disbursement. Primary: El Vocero 2026-08-31 (Esencia waiver).