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."

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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.

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. 

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. 

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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)

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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]

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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)

Sec. Granholm: Community Lighthouse Resilience Hub is "testament to the power of grassroots organizations"

Together Louisiana-IAF was joined by US Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at a celebration marking the launch of their seventh and largest Community Lighthouse Project at New Wine Christian Fellowship in LaPlace, Louisiana. 

The launch follows on the heels of a $249 Million federal investment in Louisiana to strengthen grid resilience, announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The funding will be matched by $249 Million in locally raised funding.

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The Community Lighthouse Project is equipping churches, health clinics and other community spaces with solar panels and batteries, so they don’t need to rely on grid power and faulty generators to stay open in emergencies. The nonprofit undertaking the project, Together New Orleans, ultimately wants to scatter 86 “lighthouses” throughout the state, so every resident lives within a 15-minute walk...

“We know everyone in the community within a mile or so radius that needs their breathing machine connected to electricity, or they have someone in a wheelchair or somebody that’s bed bound,” said Rev. Antoine Barriere, pastor of the Household of Faith Family Worship Church.

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"Gov. John Bel Edwards sided with New Orleans officials Monday by denying tax breaks sought by Folgers Coffee Co. that would have cost the city millions of dollars in property tax revenue....

ITEP has become a hot-button political issue in recent years. Business groups argue that allowing companies to avoid taxes they would owe on new equipment and machinery encourages those types of investments. Critics, led by Together Louisiana, argue that companies have been allowed to skip out on taxes from investments that they would have made anyway and that schools and sheriffs need the taxes to improve the quality of life in their communities.