After Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern US in August 2005 — causing more than 1,800 deaths — Lauren Flanagan, CEO and co-founder of nanogrid maker Sesame Solar, decided she had to do something to address the human toll of climate disasters.
“When you have a Katrina-like catastrophe, the government sends out fossil solutions,” she said. But those solutions only compound problems during emergencies, adding noise and air pollution. “The obvious choice is renewable energy.”
She founded Sesame Solar five years ago with a goal of creating a mobile, 100% renewable power option that could be deployed quickly and easily during hurricanes, storms and other emergencies. Another aim was to provide essential services — 5G wireless, clean water, electric vehicle charging and refrigerators for storing medicine.
Sesame Solar isn’t alone in providing renewables-based nanogrids and microgrids to help out during emergencies. More and more, electric vehicles are being used as mobile microgrids to support the grid when it’s stressed.
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