Greenpeace sent its Rolling Sunlight, a truck fitted with solar panels on top, to Rockaway Beach today to provide cell phone charging to New Yorkers who have lost power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Rolling Sunlight is now up and running and powering a small store, as well as laptops and cell phones.
The truck will be atRockaway Beach Blvd & Beach 113th St in New York until this evening.All are welcome for a free charge. People coming from other parts of the city should look first to see if other Sandy-related efforts can help nearer to them.
“We are happy to work with the community relief effort to bring solar power to New York. Today, solar power can help bring a small degree of comfort and a cell phone charge to the people left without electricity in Sandys wake, said Greenpeace climate campaigner Robert Gardner. Tomorrow, the same solar power can help us slow down the global warming that is supercharging storms like Sandy, and prevent us from further loading the dice toward even worse extreme weather.
Rolling Sunlight is a Greenpeace vehicle designed to show the massive potential of solar energy. It features 256 square feet of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The panels and batteries the truck carries would power one typical US household, or three energy efficient homes. The truck itself can run on biodiesel.
See more photos of impacted areas in New York and New Jersey.
Look for the Rolling Sunlight if you’re in area and follow @RobertGardnerGP for updates.
