Empowered by Light donates solar energy systems to Puerto Rico Fire Dept.
The nonprofit organization donated the renewable energy systems to improve resilience at 11 fire stations.
The renewable energy nonprofit Empowered by Light recently announced it has donated solar and energy storage systems to 11 fire stations across Puerto Rico.
The first of these solar systems was installed shortly after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, with the remaining 10 systems installed between late 2017 and early 2019.
The 11 Puerto Rico Fire Department stations equipped with these systems are located in Adjuntas, Ángeles (Utuado), Barrio Obrero (San Juan), Castañer, Centro (San Juan), Lares, Las Marías, Naguabo, Peñuelas, San Sebastián, and Vieques.
Each solar system includes energy storage (batteries) to improve resilience, with sizes ranging from 6 kilowatts (kW) of solar and 22 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of storage to 20.8 kW of solar and 54 kWh of storage.
Funding for the installations was provided by The Electric Planet Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Sunrun, Cypress Creek Renewables, and individual donors. Local solar companies, including AZ Engineering and Aireko Energy, handled the installations.
“We installed these solar energy systems to enable first responders to continue serving their communities when the electrical grid fails — whether that failure is due to a major storm, earthquake or some other cause,” said Moira Hanes, executive director of Empowered by Light. “We always intended for these systems to be donated to the Puerto Rico Fire Department, and we’re thrilled they are now ready to take over ownership and continue benefiting from the reliable, renewable power these systems provide.”
Residential solar company Sunrun joined Empowered by Light in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, helping fund and install the first three systems.
“Sunrun is proud to have partnered with Empowered by Light and local leaders to bring critical generation and backup power to emergency services across Puerto Rico,” said Amy Heart, Sunrun’s senior vice president of public policy. “These partnerships proved essential for communities in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria and, years later, are still providing continued benefits of power generation and backup power for fire stations on the island.”