This study explores perceptions of fossil fuel interests and the role narratives of fossil fuel obstruction play in slowing down the renewable energy transition in Puerto Rico. We analyzed interviews conducted with 56 “energy actors” engaged in Puerto Rico's energy system about their visions of the system's future and perceptions of the influence of different actors in promoting change or reinforcing the status-quo. The analysis also examined the use of discourses of delay in participant interviews using a framework proposed by Lamb et al. (2020). Our interviews revealed that a wide range of energy actors perceived obstruction by fossil fuel interests as shaping Puerto Rico's energy transition, and used discourses of delay to describe Puerto Rico's energy transition, but also employed narratives that countered this obstruction and resisted fossil fuel interests. The results depict the conflicted nature of Puerto Rico's energy transition: on the one hand there was widespread agreement across a wide range of actors that the future of Puerto Rico's energy system would eventually be renewable based, and at the same time, there were significant doubts that a renewable transition could or would occur. The complex interplay among perceptions of the influence of fossil fuel interests, discourses of delay, and narratives of resistance and community power offers insights into why renewable energy deployment has been slow in Puerto Rico, despite the possibility of a rapid transition after Hurricane Maria devastated the energy system in 2017 and ambitious energy policies were passed.

中文翻译：

---

波多黎各的化石燃料利益：对现有权力的看法和延迟的讨论

本研究探讨了对化石燃料利益的看法以及化石燃料阻碍在减缓波多黎各可再生能源转型中所发挥的作用。我们分析了对参与波多黎各能源系统的 56 名“能源参与者”进行的访谈，了解他们对该系统未来的愿景以及不同参与者在促进变革或巩固现状方面的影响的看法。该分析还使用 Lamb 等人提出的框架检查了参与者访谈中延迟话语的使用。（2020）。我们的采访显示，许多能源参与者认为化石燃料利益的阻碍正在塑造波多黎各的能源转型，并使用延迟话语来描述波多黎各的能源转型，但也使用了反驳这种阻碍和抵制化石燃料利益的叙述。结果描绘了波多黎各能源转型的矛盾性质：一方面，广泛的参与者广泛同意波多黎各能源系统的未来最终将基于可再生能源，但同时也存在重大疑问可再生能源转型可能或将会发生。对化石燃料利益影响的看法、延迟的讨论以及抵抗和社区力量的叙述之间复杂的相互作用，让我们深入了解为什么波多黎各的可再生能源部署一直缓慢，尽管在飓风玛丽亚摧毁波多黎各后有可能迅速过渡。 2017 年能源体系和雄心勃勃的能源政策获得通过。