Maldives, Sunday October 3rd

Maldives is an Islamic country so there are a few things that are quite different from the US. First, dogs, alcohol, and religious idols are strictly prohibited from importation, and second, lucky for us, they work on Sundays! Today we arrived back at the Muleeaage with all of our Sungevity safety gear to hand out to the workers. Heath continued work on the conduit while I worked on the roof with a few members of our crew getting everything ready to install the rails tomorrow.

Around lunch time we took the laborers out to one of their favorite lunch spots and got to know them a bit better. Most of them come from Sri Lanka to work in Maldives for better pay. They leave their families for years at a time and send money home regularly. One thing Heath and I have both noticed is the extreme hospitality we’ve been met with. Everyone we’ve come in contact with is extremely friendly and wants to learn more about our lifestyle back in the states. We’ve even been invited into homes for dinner a few times, which was an amazing experience.

A few days back when it was raining really hard out, one of the crew leads, Adam, was gracious enough to take us into a mosque during the evening prayer. We washed hands, then feet, then legs, then face, all in a very organized ritualistic manner. After cleaning ourselves we walked into the mosque bare feet and began the prayer. Amongst a room full of men Heath and I found ourselves running through the motions, emulating what we saw, and tried our best not to stand out. It must be really nice taking a few minutes 5 times each day to spend with yourself and your religion. In the US the days seem so packed and rushed that we lose the opportunity to do so. On our way out Adam snuck a quick video in. Check it out at: http://picasaweb.google.com/sungevity (it’s the one with a foot for the picture thumbnail).

-Brian Somers

Maldives, Saturday October 2nd

Today Heath and I woke up at some ridiculous hour having gone to bed around 9:00pm and still jet lagged from the 12 hour time difference. After getting a really authentic Maldivean breakfast served to us by the staff we headed off for our second day of work.
It’s the weekend so we weren’t expecting to get much done because all of the laborers have the day off, but we were surprised to find a small army of able bodied men ready to help. Heath continued to work on setting up the inverters while I worked with the crews to prep all the rails and panels. It took a few hours but with all the extra help we were well ahead of schedule.
Later that night we went out to dinner with some of the staff at the Muleeaage and ran into an organized rally of hot rod protesters. Apparently there is a small group of people here who really want to race the tiny winding streets in their suped up cars so they drove them all to the Muleeaage to protest the President to allow them to do so. Given the island is only about a mile long and the streets are about the size of most ally ways in America, it’s probably a good thing he won’t allow it. Check out the video and some more pictures from today at: http://picasaweb.google.com/sungevity

-Brian Somers

Obama to Return Solar Panels to White House, Chu Says

From Business Week:

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will have solar panels put back on the roof of the White House to demonstrate that renewable-energy technology is practical for U.S. homeowners, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.

“The White House will lead by example,” Chu said today at a conference in Washington. In addition to photovoltaic panels to generate electricity, a solar hot-water heater will be installed for the White House residence quarters.

President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House 31 years ago. They were later taken down by Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan. Solar-energy advocates have pressed Obama to return solar panels to the White House as a symbol of his commitment to renewable energy.

“The White House did the right thing, and for the right reasons: They listened to the Americans who asked for solar on their roof, and they listened to the scientists and engineers who told them this is the path to the future,” Bill McKibben, an environmental activist who led rallies calling for Obama to act, said today in a statement.

Sungevity Inc., a closely held solar company based in Oakland, California, began a “Solar on the White House” campaign earlier this year.

The Energy Department will hold a competitive procurement process to choose the company that will install the solar systems, the department said in a statement. The cost will depend on that process, according to Christine Glunz, a spokeswoman for the Council on Environmental Quality.

Chu also said today that the U.S. is on course to meet Obama’s goal of doubling manufacturing capacity for renewable energy by 2012.

Globama!

Today we awoke in the Maldives ready to install panels on President Nasheed’s residence, the Mulee-aage. As the western world began to wake up we got a great bit of news from our own leader. After months of work building a coalition of solar companies and non-profit advocacy groups, the Globama campaign can claim victory to bringing solar back to the White House. Check out the story here.

We would like to thank all of our coalition members, especially 350.org, SEIA, ASES, Renewable Energy World, and the tens of thousands of supporters on facebook from around the world.

Yes we can! GLOBAMA!!!

Maldives, Friday October 1st

Friday, Heath and I arrived in Male after a 24 hour flight from San Francisco. We stopped in Dubai for a bit and got a chance to see ‘Old Sook’, the historic portion of Dubai where real people live and go about their lives. When we arrived we were met by the familiar friendly face of our host Irumeen Shareef. We got on the boat he arranged for us and immediately we set off for our accommodations. After a quick boat ride we arrived at the ‘picnic island’, named Aarah. The former President built it for leisure, but since the new democracy is in place, the island is used for special events, or hosting guests like ourselves.

After a quick lunch Heath and I headed to the capital city of Male where we went to work at the President’s residence, a.k.a. the Muleeaage. We were happy to see that all of our shipments arrived safely. The modules were sent from LG in South Korea, the Inverters were sent from Kaco in Germany, and three crates were sent from our warehouse in Oakland, CA. After weeks of preparation and planning we were finally at the Muleeaage, ready to get to work.

Within the remaining working hours we had we were able to get the three inverters mounted on the wall and inventory our shipments. It started raining like crazy, and it’s been weather like this for the past three weeks, so I’m a little nervous about getting everything installed, ready to finish by 10/10/10, the Global Work Party event. Be sure to check back regularly for new blog posts, and follow the installation pictures by checking back at http://picasaweb.google.com/sungevity

-Brian Somers