Solar Charging Station Perseveres through Hurricane Sandy

Nov. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- NOVEMBER 1, 2012 (Brooklyn, NY) – Beautiful Earth Group reported zero damage and no downtime at its solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at Brooklyn Bridge Park in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The storm is said to have caused 39 deaths, massive power outages and billions of dollars in flood and wind destruction in New York.

“The charging station is located in an open area on the Brooklyn waterfront with little protection from the wind and water. Our two biggest concerns were the modules and battery bank” said Lex Heslin, head of Beautiful Earth subsidiary Beautiful Energy (“BE”).

“Fortunately, everything in the station was built to operate in tough environmental conditions” said Heslin. “The shipping containers did their part. The solar array held tight through gale-force gusts of rain and debris. The batteries performed perfectly. The inverter/charger provided pure, continuous power with no unmitigated surges.”

“Surviving Sandy helps prove that renewable energy based systems are reliable, safe and durable” Heslin went on to say. “They also provide alternative generation and backup power from storage when traditional systems experience outages and interruptions.”

“Extreme climate is a reality” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday. New York City has experienced two “one-hundred year” storms and an earthquake in just over a year. “Greenhouse gasses, sea levels and water temperatures are increasing measurably” adds Heslin.

“Climate-related disasters are on the rise, and we really aren’t ready for them. Now is the time to reinvest in infrastructure. We need to add more renewable energy and storage capacity to secure our future. Immediate implementation of smart grid technology is critical. As the climate changes further, we’ve got to decentralize operational risks which will surely grow. Utility companies need help. They really aren’t set up to resolve all of these issues. We need entirely new perspectives and systems to deal with these seemingly insurmountable challenges” said Heslin “and we need them yesterday.”