New Orleans’ model could provide a solution. “Community lighthouses” aspire to provide a crucial lifeline when the lights go out.
On a Sunday in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood, a church filled with voices sings the song This Little Light of Mine. However, letting it shine has taken on a whole new significance for local people. In 2023, the brownstone Broadmoor Church’s rooftop was outfitted with a slew of new solar panels, converting sunshine into energy for nearby inhabitants.
The chapel is one of 86 proposed “community lighthouses” and part of a bigger initiative to establish the nation’s greatest network of it.
Together, Louisiana, a non-profit organization with local and federal financing, is spearheading the effort to transform these centers into energy-resilient hubs.
As Tropical Storm Debby, a category one hurricane that made landfall in Florida, continues to inundate Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, causing widespread outages and flooding, efforts to adapt to such extreme storms are intensifying. (Read more about how climate change is making hurricanes more intense.)
New Orleans’ community lighthouses are in their early stages and have not yet been tested against a full-fledged hurricane. However, the project’s organizers believe they might be a life-saving strategy for providing critical power in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane.
