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Resilient Community Hubs with Renewable Energy and Battery Backup

Solution Overview

Several existing community and activity centers have been identified as desirable locations for the establishment of hardened neighborhood facilities to support residents in times of need before, during, and after hazardous weather events or disruptions in utility services.[1] These facilities will be retrofitted with renewable energy equipment and batteries to allow for constant operational readiness when their services are needed most.[1] This approach offers benefits specifically targeted at LIDAC residents, serving as resources for protection during extreme heat and other weather events, as well as venues for trainings for residents to learn how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve resilience, and lower energy bills in their homes and neighborhoods.[1]

Technical Components

The technical implementation involves either enhancing existing community facilities or constructing new facilities for the hub location, including assessing existing community structures in the area and working with the ownership to evaluate needed upgrades to ensure resilience functions and reduction of GHG emissions.[1] All five facilities are planned to be upgraded with solar arrays, batteries, and new energy efficient HVAC equipment and lighting.[1] These systems require solar and storage systems designed specifically to provide energy services during emergencies, which demands significantly more battery storage than a Time-of-Use load-shifting battery.[5] Rooftop solar capacity is estimated assuming 50 percent of the roof area is available for solar.[4] Solar and storage estimates are provided based on a 96 hour outage scenario in a low-solar irradiance month, during which sites can provide 50 percent of the energy used during normal operations.[4] According to the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, effective resilience hubs should sustain operations during extended power outages.[4]

Implementation Details

The implementing authority for this project includes Tribal governments, INCOG, and local governments including municipalities and counties.[1] Potential funding sources include EPA Community Change grant, local general funds, general obligation bonds, sales tax initiatives, and private funds from foundations and businesses.[1] Implementation components include implementing a comprehensive community engagement and learning strategy to build knowledge about Resilience Hubs and the roles they play before (steady-state), during (emergency response), and after (recovery) a hazard or community shock.[1] Through the Clean Energy Group's Technical Assistance Fund, a third-party engineer conducted a solar and storage assessment for the A.B. Ford project, producing a comprehensive report on system sizing, backup power duration, and potential revenue-generating opportunities.[2] The Net Present Value of solar and storage installations includes costs such as upfront expenses and operations and maintenance, as well as benefits like reduced utility bills, all converted to present-day value with an 8 percent discount rate.[4]

Benefits and Impacts

According to the EPA's Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator, in 2023 the total CO2e emissions for all five centers was 1,324, which is an average of 264 Mt CO2e each.[1] The scenario for emission reduction estimates assumes the stated upgrades are completed on all five centers and is based on the emissions calculated using the 2023 electricity and gas purchased for each facility.[1] Assuming all five facilities are upgraded with solar arrays, batteries, and new energy efficient HVAC equipment and lighting, the total projected emission reductions from operations is approximately 6,620 Mt CO2e in 2030 and 33,020 Mt CO2e by 2050.[1] Comparable projects demonstrate significant operational benefits, as CrescentCare Community Health Center in New Orleans installed a 128-kilowatt solar array paired with a 220-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery storage system and a 500-kilowatt natural gas generator at their St. Roch location following Hurricane Ida.[3] Commissioned in March 2024, the CrescentCare solar and storage system is designed to power the entire facility, including vaccine storage, pharmacy, IT infrastructure, and patient care areas, for no less than 4 hours.[3] In March 2024, the same month the system was commissioned, New Orleans experienced a 2-hour grid outage and the solar and storage system served the health center's entire load, resulting in no essential losses or interruptions in care.[3] The solar and storage system also provided uninterrupted power during intermittent grid outages in January 2025.[3] Solar and storage is projected to save CrescentCare $24,000 annually through solar net-metering savings on their utility bill, offsetting utility costs by an average of 15 to 20 percent.[3] As part of the system upgrade, CrescentCare chose to remove the existing 200-kilowatt diesel generator and gift it to a local community organization that didn't have an existing source of backup power.[3]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

These locations would serve as resources for LIDAC residents for protection during extreme heat and other weather events.[1] The facilities are designed to support residents in times of need before, during, and after hazardous weather events or disruptions in utility services.[1]

Business Analysis

California's Strategic Growth Council recently released nearly $100 million to support resilience centers across California, demonstrating significant policy support for this approach.[4] The financial model incorporates both upfront costs and operations and maintenance expenses, balanced against benefits from reduced utility bills, with all values converted to present-day calculations using an 8 percent discount rate.[4] Potential funding mechanisms include EPA Community Change grants, local general funds, general obligation bonds, sales tax initiatives, and private funds from foundations and businesses.[1] Implementation requires coordination among multiple governmental entities including Tribal governments, INCOG, and local governments at both municipal and county levels.[1]

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