There is an interesting symbiosis developing between NYC Mesh and my startup Canopy: the data mesh wants power, the power mesh wants data. Both want the other to be more resilient and less expensive.

In the pic at the top of the article, taken on my rooftop, you can see a white, round thing. This is a ubiquiti nanobeam wifi radio. Just below it you can see a solar panel. It belongs to an off-grid solar power unit called Ra http://canopyrising.com/#ra. The nanobeam is now bolted directly onto the solar power unit Ra enabling the node to support the local data mesh during a blackout.

On the roof and inside Ra, a beaglebone black runs the http://sunpress.co network of websites directly on off-grid solar power.

Ra also delivers solar power for lighting and usb charging in the form of the Canopy Cuba table http://canopyrising.com/#cuba , a bedside table that stores days worth of power and is found in the http://tremolino.co guest rooms 1 floor down.

Canopy aims to create a marketplace where neighbors who invest in the products to generate solar power trade with those who invest in capacity to store it.

Unlike traditional solar and storage, which is limited to property owners as it requires financing, design, permitting, and installation; Canopy is accessible renters and owners as it is low cost and requires no financing, no design, no permitting, and no install.