GivePower is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that develops clean water and energy systems in communities across the world.
GivePower has installed 2,650
solar power
Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...
installations in villages across 17 different countries and in underdeveloped areas of the United States.
History
GivePower was co-founded in 2013 in California by Hayes Barnard and Lyndon Rive as the non-profit branch of
SolarCity
SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...
, which was created in 2006 by
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...
. After SolarCity merged with
Tesla in 2016, GivePower was spun off into an independent organization just before the merger was completed.
The president of GivePower is Hayes Barnard.
In 2014, the organization's first focus was to provide one school with solar-powered lighting for every megawatt of solar system installed by SolarCity that year.
In 2021, GivePower was listed as a finalist in ''
Fast Company
''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year.
History
''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...
's'' 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards.
Projects
In 2016, GivePower began developing solar powered
desalination
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...
technology that could be exported to developing regions.
The desalination systems are contained within 20-foot shipping containers and can desalinate up to 75,000 gallons of seawater and/or brackish water into potable water per day.
In 2018, GivePower installed its first desalination plant in
Kiunga, Kenya
Kiunga is a division in the Lamu District of Coast Province located close to the Indian Ocean coast of northern Kenya, and only 15 kilometres to the border with Somalia. A major marine conservation area, the Kiunga Marine National Reserve has its ...
,
. The project cost $500,000 and took one month to construct. As of 2019, the Kiunga plant could produce enough drinking water for up to 50,000 people per day and requires minimal maintenance.
As of 2018, GivePower had installed 2650 solar power installations in villages through seventeen different countries for institutions like primary schools and medical clinics.
They have also developed solar installations in underdeveloped areas of the United States, including the
Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
Once installations are completed, GivePower transfers the maintenance and running of them to local communities.
In 2019, GivePower built a 300 kilowatt solar farm on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation which became the largest solar installation in North Dakota. The project was a partnership between Empowered by Light and GivePower, and the total cost was $470,000. The maintenance of the solar farm also created jobs for the Sioux Nation Tribe.
The same year, the organization partnered with World Hope International to build a solar-powered desalination center in Haiti. The water plant was fully operational and self-sufficient by 2020.
References
{{reflist
2013 establishments in California
Solar power
Charities based in California
Elon Musk