On Wednesday, April 18th, 2018 a freak accident knocked out power to nearly every home and business in Puerto Rico.
Nearly eight months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, Puerto Ricans are still struggling with an unstable power grid. Currently, 97% of island residents have power. However, April’s disruption is not the first. A failure the week before plunged 870,000 of 1.5 million customers into darkness.
Unfortunately, many Puerto Ricans now know how to live without power. Disruptions or blackouts are the new norms. New York Times reporter James Wagner walked through San Juan neighborhoods of Las Palmas and Barrio Obrero in mid April. He saw some signs of progress in rebuilding, but many roofs were still in tatters, and a few businesses were still boarded up.
Many have shifted their lifestyles due to the lack of stable power. James Wagner reported that residents only buy a few days’ worths of food, such as meat, at a time to prevent it from spoiling if the power goes out.
Global Weather Oscillations (GWO) predicts 2018 will result in another year of “above normal” storms out of the Atlantic. The United States Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the restoration effort in Puerto Rico. They hoped to have power fully restored by mid-May before hurricane season starts on June 1st. The race is on to prepare the island for a potentially tricky storm season.
Aldelano Solar Cold Chain Solutions has designed off-grid solar resources that allow entire communities to live independent of the grid. The Aldelano Solar PowerPak/GeneratorTM can power an entire village. Solar power means residents would not be dependent on generator fuel, which may be compromised during a storm. All Aldelano Solar PowerPak/GeneratorTM units are customized to meet the electrical needs of the region and the specific needs of the customer.
The Solar PowerPak is not the only Aldelano Solar Cold Chain Solutions product that could benefit residents of Puerto Rico. The government could utilize the Aldelano Solar WaterMakerTM to ensure residents always have access to clean water. Severe flooding often compromises drinking water. The Aldelano Solar WaterMakerTM generates clean drinking water from moisture in the air. Different models can create over 1,000 gallons of fresh water per day and up to 2,300 lbs. of ice.
Life-saving solar equipment has the power to transform communities without access to stable electricity, drinking water or cold storage for food or medicine.
