Private companies help Puerto Rico while America is slow to offer aid

Source: DW


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While many lives have been at stake the citizens of Puerto Rico had to wait for the US government to approve additional aid funding, which the US House of Representatives finally did on Thursday with a $36.5-billion disaster aid package. The government's slow response to the island's crisis has differed vastly from the response to similar disasters in Texas and Florida, two other areas heavily affected during this hurricane season.
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Luckily, the private sector has picked up where the American government dropped the ball. Sonnen, a German-based manufacturer of energy storage systems, stepped in a week after the hurricane with the resources to construct micro-grids that can operate without an initial grid connection. These grids can be installed relatively quickly and can help deliver electricity to emergency relief centers.

Tesla is ramping up battery production in its own effort to build micro-grids, and in the meantime is sending hundreds of its residential batteries called Powerwalls, which store power from solar panels. When asked on Twitter if Tesla could help, Elon Musk responded "The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too." This is an opportunity for both companies to improve their public image while inadvertently advertising their expertise in energy security.

Ricardo Ramos, the chief executive of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said the main goal is to restore energy to hospitals. As he told the New York Times "I would love to have all the hospitals energized, but it's impossible to do that," he said. "There are hospitals in the mountainside, there's hospitals in the southeast, where my infrastructure is completely destroyed." While responding to the humanitarian crisis, companies like Sonnen and Tesla are also showcasing the flexibility and durability of their technology.

When asked why they were offering to help, Sonnen's US Senior Vice President Blake Richetta said, "This reflects the passion of the German people to take on a global leadership role, no matter how far from Germany, in helping humanity and the planet and, unlike others, we can actually help right now, not just talk about it."
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Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/private-companies-help-puerto-rico-while-america-is-slow-to-offer-aid/a-40933458