Francine’s wind and rain lashed the dark neighborhoods, flooding them as Lee and Bailey almost decided to slog through hours of traffic to evacuate and stay with relatives in Texas.
Together New Orleans Advances $26.6M Backup Battery Program to Keep the Power On
Together New Orleans with New Orleans City Council Members and the Alliance for Affordable Energy pose after a Sept. 23, 2026 vote to advance a backup battery incentive program [Photo credit: New Orleans City Council]
[Excerpts]
The New Orleans City Council has cleared the way for a new backup battery program that advocates say will help keep the lights on at homes, businesses and community sites when the grid goes down.
Read moreEvery Soul Within Our Boundaries: U.S. Catholic on Together Louisiana's Resilience Hubs
[Excerpts]
In 2021, Hurricane Ida knocked out eight transmission lines and 31,000 utility poles in Louisiana. This left 1 million people without power, with some outages lasting several weeks. In the heat wave that followed, 10 people died without air conditioning.
Launched only six weeks earlier, Together New Orleans solidified a clear vision after Ida: They would organize “resilience hubs” powered by solar energy within a 15-minute walk of every resident in Southeast Louisiana. The hubs, called “community lighthouses,” would provide charging stations during power outages, invite residents to cooling stations during heat waves, and offer food during emergencies….
Read moreAfter Years of Organizing, TNO Wins Pivotal Policy for Community Solar
Years after Together New Orleans (TNO) began organizing for Community Solar, New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to support consolidated billing.
Read moreTNO Wins $30M to Create the Largest Community-Based Virtual Power Plant in the Deep South
The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved the Neighborhood Power Plan - a $30 million proposal by Together New Orleans (TNO) and allies to strengthen the local power grid by installing solar batteries at over 1,600 homes, community facilities and businesses.
Funded with Entergy settlement dollars, the plan will not increase utility rates.
According to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, New Orleans Mayor Elect Helena Moreno called the endeavor "the largest single investment in community-led sustainability the city has ever made."
Read moreTNO Launches 'People's Transition Team' to Hold Elected Leaders Accountable For Campaign Promises
[Excerpts]
As Mayor-elect Helena Moreno's transition ramps up, a coalition of community leaders are launching their own transition to hold the mayor-elect and other elected leaders accountable for the promises they made on the campaign trail.
The "People's Transition Team," an initiative of the nonprofit Together New Orleans, will focus on four issue areas identified by city residents the group surveyed — cost of living, public works, jobs and energy.
Read moreBloomberg News: TLA’s Community Lighthouses Strengthen Local Capacity to Respond to Emergencies
Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, Together Louisiana's Community Lighthouse strategy is being recognized as a national model for disaster preparedness. Bloomberg News highlighted the initiative for "strengthening the capacity of local communities to respond to emergencies."
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most catastrophic storms in U.S. history, displacing millions and leaving many in oppressive heat without power or clean water. One of those displaced was Bianchi Hughes, who was just nine years old when she and her mother fled to Mississippi. They had to leave her father behind at a hospital that later flooded and permanently shut down after its generators failed.
Now, Hughes serves as a leader and the director of disaster relief with Together Louisiana.
Read moreTNO: We are the Ones We've Been Waiting for
On Sunday, July 13 at Dillard University, delegations from across New Orleans gathered to define the future of their city.
In a resounding display of grassroots power and civic resolve, 600 leaders from 29 Together New Orleans (TNO) member organizations and 50 guest organizations united for a citywide assembly to ratify a non-partisan platform for the upcoming city elections.
Read moreTogether New Orleans Pushes for Sustainable and Reliable Power
[Excerpt]
Beating drums and ringing bells, dozens of advocates and religious leaders gathered on the steps of New Orleans City Hall Thursday to urge local officials and Entergy to quickly move forward on a "virtual power plant" plan for backup clean energy during outages and hurricanes.
Together New Orleans (TNO) and the Alliance for Affordable Energy say the plan is crucial to equip the city for disasters and outages, while also lowering electricity costs and providing more clean energy. The nonprofits criticized Entergy New Orleans for not installing “microgrids” around the city that can power facilities when the traditional grid fails, while the advocacy groups have built out a network.
The advocacy groups want to supply batteries for up to 1,500 solar-equipped homes and over 100 facilities – such as shelters and hospitals – over a three-year period using $32 million of Entergy settlement funds.
“We are here today to create a sense of urgency for our city council and our utility system to act to better protect the citizens of this city during the growing dangers of outages,” said Shawn Anglim, a pastor and leader with TNO.
(Photo Credit: Brett Duke, The Times-Picayune)
Read moreAfter Hurricane Francine, 9 'Together Louisiana' Community Lighthouses Provide Vital Support
[Excerpt]
Then they remembered their neighborhood church still had its lights on. Inside First Grace United Methodist Church they found an air-conditioned refuge, a place to plug in their devices. They were able to charge the breathing machine and go back to sleep in their own home.
First Grace is part of the Community Lighthouse Project, an initiative born of hurricanes, to provide essentials like functioning electrical outlets and air conditioning to people facing blackouts, by building out solar panels on church roofs. The nonprofit Together New Orleans founded the project to turn the buildings into microgrids, meaning they generate and store their own electricity when the grid is down. There are now nine operating in New Orleans with a plan to expand to 86 across the city and 500 across the state....
Climate Solution: In the Swelter of Hurricane Blackouts, Some Churches Stay Cool on Clean Power, Washington Post [pdf]
Solar-Powered 'Lighthouses' Stayed Lit for Hurricane Francine. What Does It Mean for Bigger Storms?, Times-Picayune [pdf]
Solar 'Lighthouse' Project Underwent First Real Test in Hurricane Francine, Louisiana Illuminator [pdf]
Hurricane Francine: After-Action Report, Together New Orleans [pdf]
TNO, Sisters of the Holy Family Make Community Solar Strategy Sustainable in New Orleans
[Excerpt]
City consultants, the energy provider and major industries did not see how they would benefit from this project. Consultants for the city of New Orleans conducted a study in 2018 to determine the viability of community solar projects and an appropriate rate for reimbursement. But their calculations were so low that no one applied, including the Sisters of the Holy Family, who could not envision the low rate of return as financially feasible for them.
So the Sisters of the Holy Family and Together New Orleans met with the local energy provider and members of the city council, "every one of them, all seven," according to Costa, and were finally able to move the city council to vote in October 2023 for a more sustainable rate of reimbursement that would benefit the sisters and their neighbors.
Up until then, according to Bagert, "the program existed on paper, but not a single solar project had been created in New Orleans. We would be a test case. This is the only viable solar project in the South."
[Photo Credit: Kevin Fitzpatrick, Earthbeat]
Holy Family Sisters Plan 22-Acre Community Solar Project in Louisiana, Earthbeat (a project of the National Catholic Reporter)