Four months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, around 450,000 people still lack power, and the local electric utility – which is on track to run out of money by mid-February without a massive loan – is still struggling to rebuild the grid. A local wind farm has been ready to run since October, but the utility hasn’t let it power up. The same is true of a large solar farm. But smaller solar microgrids, relying on batteries rather than the grid, have been able to quickly provide power to critical locations including hospitals, schools, community centers, a water pumping station, and remote mountain communities.

From January 22 to February 22, a small group of athletes, including Winter Olympian Apolo Ohno and soccer players David Villa and Kaká, will serve as captains for teams that compete to try to raise the most money for restoring power in Puerto Rico. The money will go to the Foundation for Puerto Rico, a local nonprofit, which will coordinate with companies like Tesla to quickly install new projects. “It’s going to be an immediate impact,” says Alma Frontera, director of strategic projects and alliances for the foundation. “We’re looking at projects where the community is in urgent need.”

Read the full article on the pro athletes helping to restore power to Puerto Rico by Adele Peters at fastcompany.com.