Strata Solar Donates Solar Panels to Puerto Rico

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Dominion Energy announced Tuesday morning that the company is shipping donated solar panels to communities in Puerto Rico still lacking power after Hurricane Maria.

The 50 kilowatts of solar panels, donated by Strata Solar, will be installed at schools and churches to serve as temporary “Energy Oases.” They hope to create 15 microgrids that will let community members do laundry and charge devices.

Dominion engineer and Puerto Rico-native Alexandra Garcia was the initial advocate for the project. Dominion says Garcia will leave for Puerto Rico on Thursday for six weeks to help her father — who runs a solar installation company on the island — with the installation and other volunteer efforts.

“To see all this movement from both Dominion and from Strata Solar, who was the one to come forward with the panel donations, is to see a whole level of human kindness,” Garcia told 8News.

The Associated Press reports that more than 20 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities are still without power after the Category 4 storm hit the island nearly two months ago, and more than 140,000 people have fled for the U.S. mainland. The hurricane killed at least 55 people and caused up to an estimated $95 billion in damage.

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