Expand availability and access to public facilities with solar power and battery backup for electrical grid outages.

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Extreme weather and aging power systems can leave important community buildings without electricity when they are needed most. Adding solar panels with battery storage to places like libraries, community centers, and emergency shelters helps keep power on during outages. This keeps lights, heating and cooling, communication, and medical equipment running, while also lowering pollution and energy costs.

Solar and battery systems can act like small backup power sources. During normal conditions, they provide clean energy and help reduce electricity bills. During outages, they can keep essential parts of a building running without relying on the main grid. This ensures that residents still have access to safe, climate-controlled spaces during storms, heat waves, or winter weather.

ECC hired Groundswell to complete a Resilience Hub Feasibility Study to evaluate the best locations and options for creating clean energy resilience hubs in our community for severe power outages.

Co-Benefits

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Enhances energy security

Diversifying our local energy source mix to include renewable energy reduces our reliance on fossil fuels, which are more vulnerable to supply disruptions and price fluctuations. Renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements enable residents and businesses to reduce their energy use and costs. These actions safeguard grid capacity, improve grid resilience, and enhance energy security for all.

Enhances equity

Equitable and affordable access to technologies and programs helps residents save money, reach essential services, and cope with climate impacts. Equitable access ensures even the most vulnerable and underserved have the opportunity to be safe, healthy, and resilient to climate impacts.

Increases local resilience

Programs, policies, and practices that improve local energy reliability, infrastructure integrity, food supply, water quality, waste management, and other essential needs will improve our local energy, economic, environmental, and community resilience to climate impacts, particularly for underserved populations and neighborhoods most vulnerable to those impacts.

Action
	Improve vulnerabilities & equity identified in the Evansville Resiliency Assessment through local policies, practices and funding.
	Identify and prioritize overburdened and under resourced populations for resiliency improvements through community engagement.
	Increase public awareness about air quality, climate impacts and community resiliency through education and outreach.
	Restore natural systems such as wetlands, forests, and flooplains to maximize groundwater infiltration / recharge and minimize flooding.
	Expand green infrastructure to capture stormwater runoff during intense rainfall and store for later use or treatment.
	Expand availability and access to public facilities with solar power and battery backup for electrical grid outages.
	Expand availability and access to safe refuge shelters for severe weather through community partnerships.
	Expand availability and access to community cooling & warming centers through community partnerships.
	Increase light-colored flat surfaces in built environments (pavements, rooftops) to minimize urban heat retention.
	Increase tree canopy and greenspace around built environments to mitigate urban heat retention.

Expand availability and access to public facilities with solar power and battery backup for electrical grid outages.

How do solar panels and batteries keep a facility running during an outage?

Which public buildings are best suited for solar-plus-storage installations?

How will these systems reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions?

Co-Benefits