Australian communities affected by the bushfires have a chance to quickly regain power to the vital communications and assistance infrastructure, thanks to a massive infusion of a tech billionaire. The projects use NSW 5B quick deployment solar technology and Tesla Powerwall batteries.
Mike Cannon-Brookes, one of the founders and co-executive director of Atlassian, a software company, has long been developing a zero-emission target in Australia.
And today, he is doing everything he can to help people affected by bushfires by promising $12 million to deploy solar panels and batteries through a charity, a renewable energy alliance called Resilient Energy Collective.
Restoring energy to a home or powering an entire community hub - we are setting a bold agenda to provide energy to all Australians following a bushfire or natural disaster @Resilient_EC @Tesla @mcannonbrookes https://t.co/ncINJ7YiZ3 pic.twitter.com/eGQLnvXiCG
— Eden Tehan (@EdenTehan) February 20, 2020
The goal is to quickly install solar panels and stand-alone installations that will power critical services in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Within three weeks of formation, the group restored electricity to emergency towers near New South Wales, the city of Cobargo, which were used by police, rural fire departments, national parks and the Eurobodalla shire.
Australia faced unprecedented disasters over summer. As our communities rebuild, Resilient Energy Collective is behind them. Funded by Mike & Annie Cannon-Brookes, with solar systems from @5B_Au and batteries from @Tesla. Here's how 👇 pic.twitter.com/NXi4JvUQou
— Resilient Energy Collective (@Resilient_EC) February 19, 2020
In East Gippsland, Victoria, another autonomous system of solar panels and batteries has restored power in the Gaugen community, which can be used by residents to provide assistance, cooling, Internet connectivity and public gatherings.
This project was made possible thanks to the technologies of NSW 5B and Tesla. Cannon-Brookes said the idea was to get the best technology and ingenuity to solve the huge problem of power outages in a few days, not months. That is why these companies was chosen.
The NSW 5B was able to simplify the process of installing solar panels using less materials, lightning-fast deployment and optimized logistics in their MAVERICK.
Tesla Powerwall batteries were chosen due to the fact that it provides twice as much energy per square meter to provide energy day and night, compared to other storage systems, so it takes up less space.
Featured image: Resilient Energy Collective