3 Ways Clean Energy is Saving Lives on the Front Lines of Climate
Empowering Takeaways from a Distributed Solar & Storage Webinar
I attended an inspiring webinar hosted by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), featuring the work of the Footprint Project and Together New Orleans, shining a light on a case study in New Orleans after Hurricane Ida. The group showed how distributed solar and storage shared within communities is helping save lives after fossil-fueled disasters.
Here are 3 takeaways:
3 Ways Clean Energy is Saving Lives on the Front Lines of Climate
As fossil-fueled climate supercharges more severe weather impacting grids resulting in power outages, we need new strategies for fortifying truly resilient communities. Power outages are especially dangerous to those who rely on medical equipment, such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators; people who need refrigeration for temperature-regulated medication, such as insulin; mobility-impaired residents who need elevators to safely enter and leave their homes; and heat-sensitive people who cannot withstand extreme heat or cold.
Fortunately, clean energy can help here, too. Powering back communities without adding more fuel to the climate fire. Nonprofits like The Footprint Project piloting innovative cleantech solutions to climate disruption are leading the way:
1. Cleantech-on-the-move: mobile microgrids and portable cell phone batteries
In the wake of extreme weather, the top cause of death is correlated to people’s ability to get in contact with support-- in the age of the mobile device, that means solving for this needs to provide battery power for cell phones. Researching this critical finding, The Footprint Project piloted sending mobile microgrids via solar-powered trailers neighbors could plug into. They then partnered with community groups that purchased cell phone charger lithium ion batteries, precharged, providing distribution hubs in every impacted community.
2. Pollinator-inspired power: innovating solar-Bee trailers and battery-Hive hubs
After seeing initial success supporting disaster relief with cleantech, The Footprint Project developed the piloted project into a Hub and Spoke model they’re calling Solar-Bee Trailers and Battery-Hive Hubs. Here’s a mock-up of how they envisioned these deployable clean energy community resilience hubs:
3. By/For/With Community: partnering to save lives with clean energy
The Footprint Project understands that providing access to clean energy to the right people at the right time requires partnering with the community. After Hurricane Ida devastated New Orleans and left the community without power yet again, Together New Orleans teamed up with The Footprint Project to establish over 86 Community Light Houses. These hubs ensure that every neighborhood has access to deployable battery exchanges in the aftermath of a hurricane. Watch this video to learn more about their approach.
Creating decarbonized disaster relief and resilience models with the focus on getting clean energy to those who need it most can work as a metaphorical lighthouse beacon, too: pointing the way towards a climate safe future with clean, renewable power for everyone.