As many people are aware of at this point, Puerto Rico has not been having things go well for them recently. After two major hurricanes ravaged the area, there was a time where the entire island was without power. Now months after the storms have passed, progress is being made. The latest estimate is that approximately 25% of the island has power. Some of the most important places happen to be hospitals.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, recently donated enough solar panels and electrical grids in order to restore power to a Puerto Rico Children’s Hospital. This hospital, in particular, has many permanent residents and serves around 3000 children alone.
Now while this is only one small feat for an island that was essentially destroyed there 
are much bigger implications within this. Tesla is a major tech company and is one that currently was willing to donate enough panels in order to get this hospital back to functioning order. If you look at pictures, they are located on the ground rather than the ceiling. This can be good in the event of future storms because they are much less likely to be blown away. It could cause problems for flooding, but many panels are designed to withstand rain. Tesla is also hinting that this isn’t the end of their partnership to help restore power in this energy crisis.
That gives me hope. Major companies are taking their time, efforts and money in order to help a United States territory. They are using their resources are tech agents in order to bring restoration and get everyone connected again. In this time, technology is almost the pinnacle of everything; without it, there is a significant loss in communication. We lose communication in terms of the weather, reaching out to family and seeing what is ongoing in the world. The restoration of electricity allows for the startup of technology as a whole to be restored and allows people to continue the limitless connections that technology brings.
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/10/26/tesla-delivers-solar-power-puerto-rico-hospital/802216001/
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/25/560045944/tesla-turns-power-back-on-at-childrens-hospital-in-puerto-rico
According to this blog posted by ICS5259. Tesla sent many solar panels to restore the electricity in the Puerto Rico which suffered from two hurricanes. The children’s hospital is the center of those solar panels.
According to the CEO of Tesla: Elon Musk, “it is the first of many solar and battery Tesla projects going live in Puerto Rico.” I think this first project is a great success to people in Hospital because it restore approximately 25% of the island’s power. Those power allowed injured people to stay alive and provide rebuild of the city. One more good thing for this method is that using solar panels is a easy way to transport electric and make sure everyday’s power usage.
However, there are many problems of this project. The first thing is that using solar Panels to generate electricity is very slow and only works during day time. It takes more time from people to restore cities and help patients compare to other methods. Moreover, placing solar panels wasting a huge amount of places in this small island. According to the picture showed by the Tesla, the places those solar panels needed is bigger than the hospital. The last weakness of this project is that roughly three-quarters of the residents still find themselves without power. It means that those solar panels is not enough to restore the electricity of this city.
Just as a previous comment said, this action Tesla is taking to restore a territory of the United States restores some of my faith in humanity. Unfortunately, the news cycle has moved on and is covering the devastation in Puerto Rico slim to none. This is just a negative effect in regards to the lack of news coverage providing US citizens and people around the world with the possible idea that everything is “better”. As a communications major, this is a disaster in itself. We need to spread awareness of the people that are suffering and their stories or else the world will simply forget about it and move on just as we have already been doing, unfortunately.
Moreover, the beauty of this action taken by Tesla is that they did all of this for FREE. On October 24 Tesla tweeted, “Hospital del Niño is first of many solar+storage projects going live. Grateful to support the recovery of Puerto Rico with @ricardorossello.” This is simply amazing and truly gives the image that Tesla is not just a tech company but a humanitarian company as well.
Also, earlier this month, the CEO of Tesla Elon Musk tweeted that the battery technology the company has created for electric cars could further assist Puerto Rico in rebuilding after Hurricane Maria. Because it has left millions of US citizens struggling without basic necessities this would be another key component in the transformation of the country back toward “normal” everyday life. Similarly, Tesla is sending its battery technology to South Australia to ultimately install a 100 megawatt facility. This could potentially power 30,000 homes.
Overall, I belief Tesla is a role model in the world of technology. Having a company with an extensive amount of innovation and power contribute to a tragedy of this magnitude is something this world needs to see more of. It’s much easier for people, organizations, and corporations to donate money rather than donate their time and products. That is why this is such a honorable action and hopefully many others will take after this example in times of American need in the future.
Source:
Kharpal, Arjun. “Tesla Begins Making Good on Elon Musk’s Promise to Help Puerto Rico Rebuild Its Energy Grid.” CNBC. CNBC, 25 Oct. 2017. Web.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/25/tesla-first-puerto-rico-energy-project-to-help-rebuild-island.html
The fact that a tech giant like Tesla donated so much in resources to help Puerto Rico definitely restores some of my faith in humanity. I also think the fact that it wasn’t just a monetary donation, but solar panels to help restore power, speaks volumes. Behind all technologies are humans, and it is reassuring that technological developments are extremely helpful when horrible natural disasters happen. I hope, in the future, we are able to develop more advanced technologies that allow us to be better prepared to combat natural disasters like these, and that we can help more people in the long run.
Tesla is a prime example of showing the future with technology. With a disastrous event like the hurricanes, Tesla really showed the power of Solar Panels, as they could power up a hospital, and even designed to stay strong against rain. It is also uplifting to know that Tesla will continue their efforts by providing more solar panels. With this technology, it shows how solar panels can be a very useful renewable and clean energy source. Hopefully, with the technology and Internet we have today, many other companies will follow the footsteps of Tesla and also use their best efforts to benefit the territory.