New Wine Christian Fellowship church in LaPlace underwent its first real-world test as a solar-powered Community Lighthouse during Hurricane Francine. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)
LAPLACE — An ongoing experiment to use solar-powered community “lighthouse” hubs as reliable sources of energy and refuge during blackouts passed its first real-world test this month with Hurricane Francine.
The Category 2 storm struck the coast of Terrebonne Parish on Sept. 11 and knocked out power to nearly a half-million customers statewide. The following morning, Together Louisiana’s so-called “community lighthouses” continued running their lights and air conditioners as usual and opened their doors to the public.
All 10 of the project sites — nine in New Orleans and one in LaPlace — were up and running. The lighthouses are located in churches, community centers and other buildings outfitted with commercial-scale solar and battery storage designed to operate at any time day or night, regardless of the status of the electrical grid.
Together Louisiana, a coalition of civic and church organizations, launched the lighthouse program in 2022. Funded through donations and government grants, the lighthouses serve as resiliency hubs that provide nearby residents with access to electricity, refrigeration, shelter, medical services and other basic needs during power outages and other disasters.
Together Louisiana’s Erin Hansen said about 500 people sought refuge at the lighthouses in Francine’s aftermath. The organization also made food and water deliveries to elderly residents at the Redemptorist apartment building in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District. The apartment complex was without electricity and unstaffed for two days, Hansen said.
The New Wine Christian Fellowship, the only community lighthouse in LaPlace, opened its gigantic Airline Highway facility that occupies the former Plaza LaPlace shopping mall.
A total of 19 people sought shelter at the church, Pastor Neil Bernard said in a phone interview. Fortunately, the storm was not nearly as bad as many had anticipated, he said.
Francine was the first real-world test of the Community Lighthouse Project and the solar-plus-battery systems it relies on. Together Louisiana began ramping up construction of its lighthouses after many fossil fuel backup generators — including ones for hospitals — broke down or ran out of fuel during Hurricane Ida. The LaPlace area was one of the hardest hit in the August 2021 storm, with power restoration taking weeks.
Many feared a repeat of Ida once Francine started flooding low-lying areas and the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans’ backup generators began to fail. Just as in Ida, power outages disrupted drainage pumps and the sewer lift stations that transport effluent to a wastewater treatment facility.
Power outages also plagued the sewer system in Jefferson Parish, forcing officials to deploy backup generators and vacuum trucks to avoid overflows, while residents were asked to limit their water use.
After the worst had passed, government leaders credited resilience projects and restoration efforts completed over the past few years, as well as backups for backup generators, as key factors that allowed Louisiana to withstand the storm.
For Together Louisiana, solar and battery-storage systems proved most reliable in Francine’s wake. Although they cost more than most generators, solar systems come with the added benefit of being off-grid and primary energy sources. The panels are on and generating electricity every day, not just during blackouts, allowing the buildings that host lighthouses to save money on energy consumption year-round.
Apart from a single damaged solar panel that had been improperly installed at the LaPlace church, the community lighthouse experiment has so far worked as it was designed, according to Together Louisiana. Hundreds of other panels on the old mall’s roof were fine and provided more than enough electricity, Bernard said.
“The good news is it worked just like it was designed to,” he said.
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