Tesla Restores Power To A Children’s Hospital In Puerto Rico

More than a month after Hurricane Maria ravaged the Caribbean, automaker and energy storage giant Tesla Inc. on Tuesday restored electricity to a children’s hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, using solar panels and battery storage.

“Hospital del Niño (Children’s Hospital) is the first of many solar+battery Tesla projects going live in Puerto Rico. Glad to help support the recovery. Congrats to the Tesla team for working 24/7 to make this happen as fast as possible,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk in an Instagram post Tuesday.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and Musk had discussed partnering on projects on Oct. 6, and in less than three weeks the California-based company had Hospital del Niño running on consistent and self-sufficient power.

The hospital is a permanent home to 35 children with special needs and serves over 3,000 children across the country, according to El Nuevo Dia. The power system is a donation from Tesla until the island's energy crisis is solved.

“A major contribution of @Tesla to the Hospital del Niño,” said Rosselló in a tweet Wednesday.

Millions are still without power in Puerto Rico. Electricity has only been restored to around 25 percent of the island, according to Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority.

Estimates for restoring Puerto Rico electrical grid run as high as $5 billion — a serious concern for a country that could run out of cash as soon as the end of October. Puerto Rico was in financial dire straits even before the storm destroyed much of the island.

The news of Tesla's progress in Puerto Rico comes after questionable rebuilding plans for the territory's electrical infrastructure. Puerto Rico’s public energy company last week inked a controversial $300 million deal to restore its grid with little-known contractor Whitefish Energy — a company that has only been in existence since 2015 and had just two employees at the time Hurricane Maria struck.

The company is based in Whitefish, Montana, the hometown of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. Zinke’s son had spent a summer working for the company's owner Andy Techmansk. Rosselló announced Tuesday that the deal will be audited.