After Hurricane Maria in 2017, community radio station Radio Casa Pueblo, in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, upgraded its infrastructure to become 100% solar powered:

Besides reducing costs, this change implies a positive impact for the environment. The development of the project was in charge of Casa Pueblo and Maximo Solar Industries, who has previously collaborated with the non-profit organization Somos Solar to adopt educational institutions around the island and to energize them with solar power.

The project takes on a special significance during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Radio Casa Pueblo, which became the main source of information of the towns of the central region of Puerto Rico during hurricane Maria. The fact that it now operated 100 percent with solar power allows for the continuity of its operations without depending on the fluctuations of the electric system.

Arturo Massol Deyá, associate director of Casa Pueblo, said that “Radio Casa Pueblo marks a new path for telecommunications. After hurricane Maria, communications collapsed for several reasons such as collapsed antennas, impassable access roads, and the lack of fuel for power generators. Although Casa Pueblo already worked with solar power, the transmitter still depended on a power generator. The high conventional costs of operating this transmitter strained the daily operation of our radio station. This solar project that we have been able to finish in a record time liberates us from onerous expenses and leaves better prepared, not only for our daily work but also to face emergencies.”

Read more in the full story from PV magazine.

[Image credit: Radio Casa Pueblo]