Together New Orleans’ Community Lighthouse Project — a network of solar- and battery-powered resilience hubs at churches and community centers across south Louisiana — is featured in a new national report by the Associated Press.
The article, “Community Lighthouses powered by the sun and volunteers,” highlights how Together New Orleans conceived of the project in the wake of Hurricane Ida in 2021, developed a plan to create 24 lighthouses in the initial phase of the project, and has been instrumental in raising from public and private sources nearly $11 million of the $13.8 million needed for the first phase.
As the AP story notes, weather-related outages have doubled over the last two decades, and Louisiana is one of three states experiencing a 50% increase in the duration of those outages. “Microgrids” like the Community Lighthouse network are a viable solution to the growing problem and in a city like New Orleans, where one in four residents lives in poverty and lacks means to evacuate during a prolonged power outage, Community Lighthouses can literally save lives.
The first of the lighthouse sites is expected to be ready during the 2023 hurricane season.
Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition is proud to be a founding member of Together New Orleans. We encourage you to read and share the AP story with your friends, family and congregations.
