Solar Powered Atmospheric Water System From AWG Contracting Saves Jamaican Village after Disastrous Hurricane Melissa

Keeps Village Supplied With Clean Drinking Water Indefinitely

Off-grid atmospheric generator produces 400 gallons daily after Category 5 storm, proving renewable technology can outlast catastrophe

CHICAGO, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- When Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica with 195-mile-per-hour winds in October 2025, power grids collapsed and water systems failed across the island. But high in the Cockpit Country mountains, one machine refused to quit.

A solar-powered atmospheric water generator deployed by AWG Contracting kept turning humid air into clean drinking water for the autonomous Maroon community of Accompong, producing nearly 400 gallons daily while conventional infrastructure lay in ruins.

"We designed this technology to do one thing — save lives," said Moses West, founder of AWG Contracting and the engineer behind the innovation. "Hurricane Melissa tested every limit of our engineering. The fact that the machine kept producing water when everything else failed shows what renewable resilience really means."

"Despite being flipped and battered by hurricane-force winds that overturned steel containers weighing 30,000 and 16,000 pounds, the AWG survived," said Chief Richard Currie, State of Accompong. "Within 48 hours, once the units were righted, the system was back online—producing clean, drinkable water powered entirely by the sun. That is not only a technological triumph—it is a humanitarian victory."

"Despite being flipped and battered by hurricane-force winds that overturned steel containers weighing 30,000 and 16,000 pounds, the AWG survived," said Chief Richard Currie, State of Accompong. "Within 48 hours, once the units were righted, the system was back online—producing clean, drinkable water powered entirely by the sun. That is not only a technological triumph—it is a humanitarian victory."

Operating entirely on solar energy, the MWF system survived the Category 5 storm. When Melissa's winds overturned the 40-foot container housing the generator and its solar array, local technicians, working with remote guidance from the AWG Contracting team, dried electrical compartments, replaced minor components, and restored full operation within hours.

The Accompong installation is the only atmospheric water system in Jamaica powered solely by renewable energy, and now stands as living proof that decentralized, off-grid infrastructure can endure extreme weather while providing life-saving resources.

A Growing Legacy of Water Security

From Flint, Michigan, to Puerto Rico and Jackson, Mississippi, the AWG Contracting has delivered safe water where conventional networks collapse. The Foundation's atmospheric-water technology is now viewed by global adaptation planners as a vital model for building resilience against climate-driven droughts, contamination, and storm damage.

"If we can make water in a hurricane, we can make it anywhere," West added. "This technology gives communities control over the most basic resource on earth: using nothing but sunlight and air."

The system emits no carbon, uses no chemicals, and requires no pipeline or groundwater extraction: a portable, sustainable blueprint for humanitarian and emergency response worldwide.

About AWG Contracting
AWG Contracting designs and manufactures solar-powered atmospheric water systems and is expanding U.S. production through a $25 million clean-manufacturing project to deliver sustainable, deployable water infrastructure worldwide.

About The Moses West Foundation
The Moses West Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to bringing renewable, atmospheric-water systems to communities lacking safe drinking water. Founded by Army Ranger and engineer Moses West, the Foundation has deployed life-saving water technology across disaster-affected and underserved regions in the Americas and Caribbean. The is a point specific, resilient, reliable, 100% renewable source of infinite water.

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SOURCE AWG Contracting