Solar-Powered ‘Lighthouses' Could Offer Refuge From Natural Disasters In La.

By Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator

February 17, 2023

12:00
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Solar-powered ‘lighthouses’ could offer refuge from natural disasters

3 have been built so far; plans call for 300 across the state

By: Wesley Muller - February 17, 2023 12:00 pm

(Sirisak Boakaew/Getty Images)

A coalition of churches and organizations across Louisiana are building hundreds of solar-powered microgrids that will give communities a place of refuge during natural disasters and other blackouts.

The nonprofit coalition Together Louisiana presented details of the plan, dubbed the Community Lighthouse Project, at Thursday’s meeting of the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC). Its members are installing solar power systems with battery storage at centralized locations such as churches, health clinics and community centers in underserved neighborhoods.

Pierre Moses, who is working with Together Louisiana on the project, told commissioners the “lighthouses” serve as places of refuge for nearby residents to access electricity, refrigeration, shelter and other basic needs during storms and other disasters. Each features user-friendly load management systems that allow the occupants to control the flow of power.

Unlike fossil fuel backup generators that aren’t designed for continuous use over several days and rely on fuels that are often unavailable during disasters, the solar-powered lighthouses are able to provide electricity virtually indefinitely, according to Moses. The load management systems allow the lighthouses to disconnect from the main power grid and go into backup mode, so users can regulate power to non-essential devices on cloudy days and ensure the batteries maintain adequate charge levels for nighttime use, he said.

The solar power systems are also used as primary energy sources at all times — not just during blackouts. This allows the facilities to save money on energy consumption year-round.

Together Louisiana came up with the idea for the project after so many backup generators broke down or ran out of fuel after Hurricane Ida. The lighthouse projects are funded entirely through donations.

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Theron Jackson, a Shreveport pastor, told the commissioners that many in his community see gas generators as unsafe because of the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning that claims lives almost every hurricane season.

So far, the project has three lighthouses finished and two more currently under construction. Together Louisiana plans to have at least 16 operating by this hurricane season with a long-term goal of about 300 across the state. Its ultimate vision would have a lighthouse within 15 minutes of anyone in Louisiana who needs shelter.

One lighthouse that is nearly complete is Crescent Care, a health center in New Orleans. Reginald Vicks told the commission his clinic embraced the Lighthouse Project after losing $1.5 million worth of medication during a power outage.

“Our participation in this project is essential to ensure that during a hurricane or a significant power outage…[we] keep our clinics and our operations going during a disaster,” Vicks said.

The lighthouses are placed in communities that typically don’t have the means to evacuate during storms, and the organizations and companies selected to serve as lighthouses already have a proven track record of sheltering residents during a disaster, Moses said.

Commissioner Craig Greene, R-Baton Rouge, and most of the other commissioners lauded the Community Lighthouse Project as a novel solution to Louisiana’s fragile energy grid.

“The people closest to the problem are usually the ones that come up with the best solutions,” Greene said.

Commissioner Foster Campbell, D-Elm Grove, asked how soon he could get a lighthouse near his town in Bossier Parish.

Together Louisiana’s Erin Hansen said the coalition wants the Public Service Commission to require microgrid models such as community lighthouses in Entergy Louisiana’s grid resiliency plan that the commission is currently reviewing.

“Entergy’s resiliency plan is the same it was several years ago,” she said. “There’s nothing really innovative. There’s nothing new.”

Commissioner Mike Francis, R-Crowley, said the project might fit into what the commission already approved for Entergy’s backup power plan, dubbed “Power Through.”

Under the Power Through program, Entergy installs natural gas backup generators at commercial locations such as Walmart stores to serve as microgrids during an outage. However, the cost of the generators falls mostly onto Entergy’s ratepayers and the businesses.

Francis owns a 44-year-old oilfield services and equipment business.

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The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians, particularly those who are poor or otherwise marginalized.