Disaster-stricken areas often need more than temporary structures for secure housing. They need power, too, for cooking, and for pumping and purifying water, and to help provide medical services.
So it’s not difficult to understand why Envision Solar, which does distributed power systems, is now collaborating with the temporary-structure company Proteus On-Demand Facilities to sell its LifePort and LifeVillage products to international aid, governmental and other organizations.
LifePort is a modular building system, made from light gauge steel, with scalable photovoltaic panels. It was developed to function as a carport for people whose houses weren’t quite right for a solar power system.
But according to Envision CEO Rorbert Noble, “it quickly became apparent to us that such a versatile and scalable system, with the addition of battery storage capability, would be extremely useful in developing nations and inaccessible ‘off-grid’ areas.”
A LiveVillage is a simply a grouping of LifePorts, fitted together to create something resembling a community.
It is said, according to Envision, that “LifeVillages can be deployed to build entire clean energy, self-sufficient communities, worldwide, with the unique possibility of having a significant role in eliminating energy poverty throughout the world.”
Proteus, which has been doing a lot of disaster-relief work, including in Haiti, said this is what its clients are looking for – systems that are “critical to getting communities back on their feet in the response, recovery and rebuilding after disastrous events,” explained Proteus President John Keller.
“Our alliance with Envision Solar will further strengthen our ability to serve our clients and meet the needs of their people for years.”
