Program Name
Energy Resiliency in WNC
Organization
Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition
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Program Details
Through a collaboration between Land of Sky Regional Council (LOSRC), the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA), Footprint Project (FP) and a deep network of regional partners, the North Carolina Department of Environmental (NCDEQ) is investing $5 Million in permanent and mobile microgrids to provide flexible energy resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Up to twenty-four stationary microgrids will be installed across six Helene-affected counties, and two mobile “Beehive” microgrid hubs will be installed to serve the entire state of North Caroline during future disasters (one in Western North Carolina and one in Eastern North Carolina). This innovative approach to disaster recovery and resilience will improve emergency energy access for critical community services serving thousands of North Carolinians, in recovery from and preparation for future storms. This project will highlight the ways that solar + storage systems help communities when grid power is lost by energizing community hubs and first responder facilities, and provide resiliency in the region for blue and grey sky days. The goal of the project is to deploy mobile and fixed microgrid systems to support disaster response in counties heavily affected by hurricane Helene.
The project kicked off in July, and we have selected the first round of sites and released the RFP for contractors to respond to. A second round of site selections is expected in January of 2026, with a RFP to follow. We hope to start work on the Round 1 sites in the spring of 2026.