Amicus Solar Cooperative, which consists of about 50 U.S. solar companies including LightWave Solar, partnered with Amurtel, a non-profit disaster relief agency, to bring emergency solar power and drinking water systems to those still struggling to recover from the hurricane.
The effort, called Power On Puerto Rico, enlisted volunteers from Amicus member-companies to design and build Solar Outreach Systems (SOS) that will be delivered to the areas of greatest need identified by Amurtel staff on the ground in Puerto Rico.
Each SOS is comprised of an enclosed trailer with exterior solar panels and power outlets, along with batteries and a water purification system inside the trailer. Once parked in a sunny location, the exterior solar panels are deployed and switched on to provide 300-400 watts of emergency power while at the same time purifying up to 600 gallons of clean potable water a day. Each SOS unit can charge up to 10 phones and five laptops simultaneously. Two large outdoor floodlights affixed to the roof of the SOS units will enable community members to have light at night.
