SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina two years ago, it killed 108 people. It also left millions without power, some of them for months. Now, to try to become more resilient to future disasters, microgrids are popping up in public spaces where people often gather after storms. Katie Myers of Grist and Blue Ridge Public Radio reports.
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KATIE MYERS, BYLINE: Ryan Callahan is drilling a few screws into a panel in a back room of the Beacon of Hope Food Pantry in Marshall, North Carolina.
RYAN CALLAHAN: At this point, we've got everything plugged in, and we're about to put on the final covers - so kind of buttoning everything up.
MYERS: Callahan and another electrician, Steve Porvaznik, are putting the final touches on a solar install. It's a microgrid.
STEVE PORVAZNIK: We have three batteries plus two booster packs. So, in case of an outage, we were able to back up the whole store, essentially.
MYERS: The batteries store power from 74 solar panels on the roof of the organization's big warehouse-style building. The install is a part of a $5 million state-funded initiative to get 26 such solar microgrids into libraries, fire stations and community centers - places people can come to after disasters.
JESSI KOONTZ: These five - this row - coolers and freezers. And then this is our shopping space.
MYERS: Beacon of Hope director Jessi Koontz walks past an array of appliances. The group now helps 1,600 families each week with food. After closing the door to her office, Koontz says the last few years have been tough.
KOONTZ: Everything's been kind of compounded since the pandemic, and I feel like we were just kind of getting back on track when Helene hit.
MYERS: And since the storm, she says, hunger has increased in her community by about 50%. The center's power bills are now $1,200 per month, so she hopes the new solar install could save them some much needed money to feed people.
KOONTZ: People already come here, and so how can we, like, maximize the resources that are available when they come here?
MYERS: If the power goes out from disaster or other reasons, she says, more people can come here, get their phones charged, get on the internet and get food. Beacon of Hope is one of the first gathering places to get one of the planned solar microgrids. Sarah Nichols helps to find the best candidates for the solar installations. She's with a local economic development group. These microgrids will go up over the next few years in places where they'll be most effective, she says, and safe from flooding or mudslides, which caused most of the deaths from Helene.
SARAH NICHOLS: Should we put it in, say, a more rural area or in a community that might not traditionally get access to government services?
MYERS: As the region continues to take lessons from Helene, local leaders hope these solar microgrids can give people in distress a safe place to land. North Carolina officials say, along with the solar grids, other post-Helene and climate change preparedness projects can take shape - things like resilient internet and cell service.
For NPR News, I'm Katie Myers in Marshall, North Carolina.
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