Two Ukrainian clinics have received energy kits made by Tesla, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk. The latter had already helped the country at war by providing a connection to the Starlink network.
Elon Musk continues to technologically support Ukraine in its war against Russia. On April 29, 2022, the Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation announced on Telegram that he had received solar panels and an energy storage system from Tesla, the car brand owned by the whimsical billionaire. The energy device was installed at two clinics in the suburbs of kyiv, inBorodyanka and Irpin, towns heavily affected by the fighting with the Russians and now liberated.
” These solar panels and generators have become very popular in the United States. The Powerwall system has a long battery life and provides backup power in the event of a power outage “, adds the minister.
In the statement we received, the Ukrainian government states that Elon Musk ” donated Tesla products to Ukrainians for free “. A total of 3 kits of 12 solar panels were delivered to Irpin and 3 kits of 9 solar panels arrived in Borodianka. The power of each kit is 40 kilowatts (kW).
The American entrepreneur has already made a name for himself since the beginning of the invasion by providing Starlink antennas to the local population so that they can access an Internet connection via satellite. The Washington Post had previously revealed that this aid had been partly funded by USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, a structure attached to the White House. USAID financially covered the acquisition and delivery of a significant part of these kits, the rest coming from donations from SpaceX, another company of Elon Musk, which is at the origin of the satellite network.
Tesla’s solar panels are useful even in cloudy weather
Since Starlink’s satellite connection can also run on battery power, and the Ukrainian electricity grid is the target of enemy hacking attempts, the billionaire had also promised to send the famous panels to Ukraine to provide an additional energy source. , able to walk independently. Previously, the European Union and Ukraine interconnected electrically, to increase kyiv’s energy resilience.
In early March, while Elon Musk was chatting on Twitter with Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, the latter asked if solar panels would be effective despite overcast skies. The boss of Tesla had replied that the slabs had to be located at a high placeabove all ” if the area is constantly clogged, but the system works better than expected “. According to the American media Ecowatch specializing in ecology, solar panels can lose up to 25% of their efficiency in cloudy weather.
