Small-scale power grids were a ‘lifeline’ in WNC after Helene. They may become permanent

ASHEVILLE — The North Carolina Department of Enviromental Quality has funded the creation of “microgrids” in Western North Carolina after responding to critical power failures across the state in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. It could launch a pilot program for installing resilient, community-based power infrastructure across the state.

Announced in August, a $5 million grant provided to the Land of Sky Regional Council, NC Sustainability Energy Association and the Footprint Project will fund the installation 24 “microgrids” in Avery, Buncombe, Madison, Mitchell, Rutherford and Yancey counties. The grant makes up nearly half of a $10.4 million investment in NCDEQ’s State Energy Office from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

An estimated 7.4 million people in the southeast lost power during Helene, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with 1.18 million losing power in North Carolina. The storm was the deadliest natural disaster in WNC history, killing over 100 and causing an estimated $60 billion in damages in North Carolina. In rural areas cut-off by flooding, some residents did not see power return for months, but some communities set up “resilience hubs” with solar microgrids, which are small scale power grids that can operate independently of or connect to large utilities.

The Land of Sky Regional Council worked with the Footprint Project, a New Orleans-based nonprofit that develops renewable energy facilities in areas impacted by natural disasters, to develop 49 resilience hubs across WNC in the aftermath of Helene.

At their peak, over 2,000 people were using the hubs daily, said Land of Sky Regional Council Regional Planner Ian Bailey, who presented on the project during the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Oct. 7 briefing.

Two examples were projects in Barnardsville in Buncombe County, where neighbors utilized a solar-paneled trailer, and in the Rollins neighborhood in Madison County, where a full array of panels was set up. The hubs allowed neighbors to utilize solar panels and Starlink to reconnect with loved ones, cook food and store medicine, Bailey said. Buncombe County Commissioner Parker Sloan described the collaboration between the nonprofits as a “lifeline” for area residents.

Since NCDEQ awarded the grant for the long-term microgrid sites, the program has already received 75 applications. In an Aug. 12 news release on the grant, NCDEQ Secretary Reid Wilson called the intiative a “leap forward in how we prepare for and respond to disasters.”

”DEQ has expressed that they’d like to see this be the pilot that leads them building out this type of infrastructure across the state,” Bailey said.

The grant will also fund the creation of two mobile “Beehive Microgrid Hubs,” which will be positioned in Western and Eastern North Carolina. The hubs will act as “no-cost lending libraries, making solar and battery equipment accessible to community organizations across the state for both emergency use and ongoing preparedness,” according to the news release on the grant.

The microgrids will vary in size, with current plans indicating the nonprofits will install 18 small facilities, five medium-sized facilities and one large facility in WNC. The goal is to build as many as they can until funding runs out, Bailey said.

“This work is going to continue throughout next year and into early 2027,” Bailey said.

More: Cherokee tribe helps keep Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains open amid shutdown

More: Asheville’s temporary water pretreatment systems slated to be demobilized Dec. 1

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.