Now, the center will serve as one of the first “Lighthouses” in the area.
The solar panels are designed to withstand 160-mph winds, said Pierre Moses, the president of 127 Energy, which finances and develops renewable energy projects. He’s also a technical consultant to the Community Lighthouse effort.
Direct Relief, one of the donors financing the lighthouse project, didn’t aim to be an energy provider — it began funding microgrids after being asked repeatedly to pay for generators and fuel after hurricanes.
The humanitarian aid group’s president and CEO, Thomas Tighe, sees the value now that medical records are computerized and more people need energy-dependent devices at home such as dialysis machines and oxygen.
“You’ve set things up presuming there will always be power and that presumption is no longer valid in a lot of places,” he said.
This article originally appeared on APNews.com.
