LENEXA, Kan. — A Lenexa energy company is helping the Bahamas get its telecommunications network back up and running after Hurricane Dorian.
HCI Energy struck a deal with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, or BTC, to send four of its "Hybrid Cubes" to sites on Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands, which were devastated by the Category 5 hurricane in August.
HCI Energy founder and CEO Ray Ansari said the company's patented technology combines solar, wind, generator and battery energy to provide sustainable, continuous energy.
"The end result is providing reliable power to the critical infrastructure," Ansari said.
The cubes can be sent all over the world, even in the most remote areas.
Ansari said the cubes save time and minimize costs needed for rebuilding power. He first got the idea for the technology during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
"The storms are not going away, and what I wanted to do was create a product that actually helps people's lives," Ansari said.
HCI Energy President Joe Heller said distributed energy like this is becoming a popular topic.
"As that takes place, you're going to see units like this and others that are out there that are providing power where it's needed and not necessarily depending on the grid as we have in the past," Heller said.
Once the cubes get to their destinations, it doesn't take much work to get them started, and they can even be moved to different spots that need it.
The company already sent several down to the Bahamas and plans on sending several more.
"We're trying to create relationships, that's what we're all about," Ansari said. "We're more about relationships than financials because financials come and the relationships are made."
The company can monitor the cubes remotely from Kansas City to make sure they're always running properly.
