Local solar company, residents teaming up to help Puerto Rico
A Palm Springs solar company with the help of other local residents are bringing relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria made its way through the area.
Local government employee Jim Morales along with Hot Purple Energy will be delivering to Puerto Rico six solar powered battery systems with satellite Wifi capability developed in the valley.
“One person or a few people can’t fix the water problem or distribution problem in Puerto Rico, but we can make a difference in the communication problem, because of the technology that we have,” said Morales said.
Morales and HPE President Nate Otto say the way these chargers work is, with the help of solar energy, they’re able to charge 30 to 40 phones a day and provide wifi for up to five phones all day long.
Each unit will allow five people to send text messages and make calls to loved ones.
“Electricity is hard to find, and of course the cellular connections are non-existent,” Otto said. “I think that this would be a nice way for people to talk to each other and communicate, and say, “Hey, we’re alright. we need this. we need that. but thank God, we’re living and we’re going on.”
Morales said they expect to deliver those devices to Puerto Rico by next Wednesday.
The companies are working with FEMA to coordinate transportation, and are asking for donations from residents and local businesses to cover equipment costs. A GoFundMe account has been set up for donations.
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