 | |
| Predecessor | SolarCity (non-profit branch) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
Key people | Hayes Barnard (president) |
| Website | givepower |
GivePower is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that develops clean water and energy systems in communities across the world. [1] GivePower has installed 2,650 solar power installations in villages across 17 different countries and in underdeveloped areas of the United States. [2] [3]
GivePower was co-founded in 2013 in California [4] by Hayes Barnard and Lyndon Rive as the non-profit branch of SolarCity. After SolarCity merged with Tesla in 2016, GivePower was spun off into an independent organization just before the merger was completed. [2] [5] The president of GivePower is Hayes Barnard. [2]
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. [6]
In 2021, GivePower was listed as a finalist in Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. [7]
In 2016, GivePower began developing solar powered desalination technology that could be exported to developing regions. [3] 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. [8]
In 2018, GivePower installed its first desalination plant in Kiunga, Kenya, [2] which is also solar powered. [9] The project cost $500,000 and took one month to construct. [10] As of 2019, the Kiunga plant could produce enough drinking water for up to 50,000 people per day and requires minimal maintenance. [3]
As of 2018, GivePower had installed 2650 solar power installations in villages through seventeen different countries for institutions like primary schools and medical clinics. [2] They have also developed solar installations in underdeveloped areas of the United States, including the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. [11] Once installations are completed, GivePower transfers the maintenance and running of them to local communities. [12]
In 2019, GivePower built a 300 kilowatt solar farm on the Standing Rock Sioux 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. [1] 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. [13]
