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Katrina. Harvey. Sandy. Irma. We may recognize these storms by name, but we cannot conceive the hundred thousands of names of people affected by these tragedies. In September of 2017, Hurricane Maria passed through the Caribbean and wiped out virtually everything in its path. Puerto Rico was unfortunately located in the center of Maria’s route and experienced near-total annihilation of its critical infrastructure. Communities living within the mountainous, rural regions of the island were hit especially hard by the storm. These areas are not typically served by the water utility on the island, the Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority (PRASA), because of their location so the local water systems depend on the surrounding population for operations and maintenance. Additionally, these systems usually rely on diesel generators to pump water to nearby homes and businesses making them vulnerable to interruptions in fuel supply.

In 2014, Blue Planet Energy founder and CEO Henk Rogers made the forward-looking decision to take his Honolulu, Hawaii home off-grid. His roof-top solar array charges a 60 kWh Blue Ion battery system that he developed. For the past five years, this system has provided his vibrant, multigenerational residence with reliable, high-quality, renewably-sourced electricity. In addition to an array of household appliances, the system also powers chargers for the family's BMW and Tesla electric vehicles. "My search for the best battery technology has paid off," says Rogers. "I'm proud that my company is providing this safe, efficient, long-lasting, and environmentally benign energy storage technology to our customers."The Blue Ion energy storage system uses fire-safe, non-toxic Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP) battery cells that do not require active cooling like most home or business-scale lithium-ion battery products. Optimized for both high-performance and longevity, Blue Planet Energy backs its Blue Ion system with the industry's strongest performance warranty: 15-years or 8,000 cycles. On May 31, Henk's first-generation Blue Ion battery system completed its 1,000th cycle of seamless operation.

Blue Planet Energy, the developer of the best-in-class Blue Ion energy storage system, is the market leader in the design and manufacture of fire-safe, non-toxic Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP) energy storage systems. Henk Rogers, our visionary founder, and CEO guides Blue Planet Energy’s product innovation, design, and our commitment to build the highest quality and highest performance energy storage hardware and software available.In April, Henk joined host Nico Johnson for the 150th episode of his popular SunCast podcast. The engaging interview conveys Henk’s entrepreneurial trajectory, including his development of the Tetris video game franchise, a life-changing event that shifted his focus to the environment and climate change, and the pioneering development of advanced technologies for energy storage. Stream or download SunCast’s full interview with Henk Rogers here!

In the past, government support for microgrids has been fragmented, often hodge-podge collections of regulations, standards, and public policy. With the extreme weather events hitting the US over the past 8 years, states—as well as Puerto Rico—have enacted new programs designed to bolster grid resilience through microgrids. What can the world market learn from these public policy experiments?Puerto Rico as a Case StudyLet’s zero in on Puerto Rico, which has suffered more severe power outages than any other part of the US, with the average citizen going 84 days without electricity following Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Though California led the US with the number of power outages annually over the last decade, Hurricane Maria brought nationwide attention to the shortfalls of grid infrastructure in Puerto Rico, a US territory.

Vieques is a small island in Puerto Rico with 9,000 inhabitants. After six decades of military bombing, the island suffers from toxic contamination and also has an alarming rate of health issues. The cancer rates are 27% higher than in the rest of Puerto Rico. The Foundation Vieques en Rescate (VER) was founded in 2013 with the mission of offering social, moral, and economic support to cancer patients that reside on the island of Vieques and recently completed a project with Blue Ion batteries to become energy independent, overcoming local challenges to provide services.

"For the people of rural Puerto Rico, these [solar plus storage] solutions mean that next time a storm hits, they won’t have to wait for more than six months to have power restored and safe water flowing." --Water Mission

Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Anaheim, CA from September 24-27, 2018