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Beacon of Hope Food Pantry in Marshall, North Carolina, has installed a microgrid with 56 rooftop solar panels and three batteries. The system is designed to keep internet, lighting, and heating, cooling and refrigeration in its food distribution area operating during outages. A state grant is funding most of the project as part of a program for 24 microgrids in counties affected by Hurricane Helene.
Beacon of Hope Food Pantry in Marshall, North Carolina, has installed a microgrid with 56 rooftop solar panels and three batteries, giving the nonprofit a way to keep selected operations running during power outages. The system is supported primarily by a state grant program created for communities affected by Hurricane Helene, and is intended to help the pantry continue serving residents when storms disrupt the electrical grid.
The pantry’s system can store electricity generated by the solar panels and discharge it when sunlight is limited. According to the report by Canary Media, it is configured to support the internet and lighting, as well as heating, cooling and refrigeration in the food distribution area. Those services matter to a food pantry that distributes assistance to about 1,700 families in Madison County each month.
Executive director Jessi Koontz said the project cost about $100,000 and that Beacon did not pay for it. The system is being financed mainly through North Carolina’s grant initiative, with additional support from BuildUS, a philanthropic foundation, and a bridge loan from Invest Appalachia. The loan helps cover costs while nonprofits wait for federal solar incentives to be reimbursed, according to Lauren Sowers of Invest Appalachia.
The project is among the first to advance through a state program established to support 24 sustainable microgrids in Helene-impacted counties. Sara Nichols of Land of Sky Regional Council told Canary Media that Beacon was one of the first sites selected and ranked highly because of its community location. A microgrid at Bill’s Creek Community Center in Lake Lure is also nearing completion, the report said.
Keeping Food Services Running During Outages
The microgrid is designed to give the pantry a degree of backup power for essential services without relying entirely on the wider grid. For a food-distribution site, maintaining refrigeration can help protect stored food, while internet access and lighting support day-to-day operations. The installation does not mean every part of the facility can operate indefinitely during an outage; the report identifies the loads it can support but does not specify how long the batteries can supply them.
The project also addresses a recovery challenge beyond major disasters. Sowers said brief outages can have a significant effect in rural western North Carolina, even when a storm is not as severe as Helene. The system therefore may provide resilience during smaller disruptions as well as future storms, while its solar panels are also expected to reduce the nonprofit’s electricity costs. The report does not give a projected annual savings figure.
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From Helene Recovery to Local Backup Power
Hurricane Helene’s flooding in 2024 devastated parts of Marshall, leaving businesses and community spaces without water or electricity. Beacon of Hope was spared because its building is higher than the downtown area and farther from the French Broad River. Koontz told Canary Media the pantry had water and power after the storm, allowing its staff to help people in need.
After the storm, Footprint Project and regional partners helped set up dozens of temporary or permanent clean-energy microgrids at sites including fire stations, nursing homes and mobile-home parks, the report said. Beacon’s rooftop solar and battery system is distinct in that it is financed largely through the state initiative. Governor Josh Stein’s administration announced the program last August, using funds from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law in collaboration with Land of Sky and regional organizations.
The state program has faced delays for larger, more complex projects. Nichols said some designs require foreign components that do not meet federal funding rules, and requests for waivers can take time. The initiative is scheduled to wrap up by next summer, so the state is shifting toward smaller, more rural projects that can move through the process more readily.
“We were one of the lucky ones.”
— Jessi Koontz, executive director of Beacon of Hope Food Pantry
Switch-On Date and Backup Duration
The report does not state when the microgrid will be switched on, how long the batteries can support the listed services, or how much electricity the panels are expected to generate over a year. It also does not provide a projected dollar amount for electricity-bill savings. Those details are needed to assess the system’s performance during an actual outage.
Beacon is described as the first site, or possibly the second depending on when its array is switched on, to progress this far through the state process. The precise status of the Bill’s Creek project and the number of other sites that will be completed before the initiative’s planned end next summer were not settled in the report.
More Rural Projects in the Grant Pipeline
North Carolina’s initiative is scheduled to continue through next summer. Nichols said the state and its partners expect to focus increasingly on smaller, more rural projects as they work around federal equipment requirements and lengthy waiver processes for more complex systems. She said there are still many potential sites under consideration.
The next practical milestone for Beacon is operation of the installed system. Its performance during outages, battery runtime and actual bill savings have not yet been reported. Completion of the Bill’s Creek Community Center microgrid and progress on additional selected sites will show how much of the state’s 24-project goal can be delivered on the program’s timetable.
Key Questions
Where is the new microgrid?
It is installed at Beacon of Hope Food Pantry in Marshall, North Carolina, in Madison County.
What can the microgrid power?
The system is configured to support the pantry’s internet and lighting, plus heating, cooling and refrigeration in its food distribution area. The report does not specify how long the batteries can supply those services.
Who is paying for the project?
North Carolina’s state microgrid grant program is the main source of funding. BuildUS also contributed, and Invest Appalachia provided a bridge loan, according to the report.
Is the system already operating?
The source report says the system has been installed but does not give a precise switch-on date. Its current operating status is not clear from the information provided.
How many microgrids does the state program aim to support?
The initiative was established to support 24 sustainable microgrids in counties affected by Hurricane Helene. The report says the program is scheduled to wrap up by next summer.
Source: rss
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