Solar Panels for Dominica: Now at Least There Will Be Power After the Next Disaster Storm

A French group is equipping health centers in Dominica with removable solar panels and battery storage systems to help them be better prepared to save lives when the next disaster storm hits the little Caribbean island.

Hurricane Maria left Dominica in the dark in 2017, which was especially a problem in surviving health centers trying to treat victims of the country’s most powerful storm in nearly two centuries. But the new rooftop panels installed by Electriciens sans Frontieres – or Electricians Without Borders – can easily be taken indoors when storms hit, then quickly put back when the weather is back to normal.

“After the storm, you put the panels up and you’re open in no time at all,” says Williams Fitzroy, engineer and inspector for the Ministry of Public Works, adding that this eco-friendly alternative to diesel generators is saving the Ministry of Health a lot of money. “You don’t have to worry about fuel for generators. Renewables are the way to go.”

The solar panels and the battery storage systems – which allow health centers to run without electricity for up to three days – are currently installed in six health centers and are part of Dominica’s broader plan to become the first climate-resilient country in the world.