Sessions
Presentation: Saving Lives with Solar & Storage
12:40 PM - 12:50 PM Thu
Captain Richard Birt retired from Las Vegas Fire and Rescue in 2021 after a distinguished 30-year career in the fire service. A longtime advocate of renewable energy, Captain Richard Birt founded Solar And Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) which provides free training to firefighters across the world. The mission of his S.A.F.E. program is to train firefighters and first responders how to safely mitigate a structure fire involving PV and ESS and teach how renewable energy can help communities across the world become more resilient to power outages caused by grid failures from natural disasters. Captain Birt and his family lived in a home for 14 years that was not connected to the electrical grid and was powered by a PV and ESS that Richard designed and installed himself.
Captain Birt spearheaded a disaster relief effort in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria. The mission resulted in the installation of 19 microgrids on strategically placed fire stations across the island. These microgrids enabled the emergency services to stay operational and save countless lives even after the complete destruction of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid. Captain Birt was awarded the Medal of Honor from his fire department for his work in Puerto Rico and continues his disaster relief work around the world as a technical advisor for the non-profits The Foot Print Project and Empowered by Light.