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When a climate disaster knocks out grid electricity, people often rely on gas or diesel generators for power.
But those generators are loud and smelly. And they pollute the air. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria, so many people were running generators …
Heegaard: “ … that localized air pollution exceeded the EPA’s safe limits.”
Will Heegaard is with the Footprint Project. The nonprofit helps provide disaster-hit communities with cleaner, quieter energy, by building portable power systems that run on solar panels and batteries.
In some cases, the Footprint Project deploys small solar generators to households that need to run medical equipment.
Heegaard: “So oxygen concentrators, CPAPs, insulin refrigerators … electric wheelchairs, or accessibility devices.”
And they deliver larger mobile microgrids to schools, churches, and other facilities serving as disaster relief hubs.
In the last two years, they’ve helped out after wildfires in Hawaii, tornadoes in Mississippi, and hurricanes in North Carolina, Florida, and elsewhere.
So the tools of recovery do not cause more harm to communities already suffering.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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