Solar+Storage Microgrids for Rural Community Health Centers
The CrescentCare Community Health Center in New Orleans, Louisiana installed a resilient solar+storage system to ensure continuity of care in the event of a power outage. Read a project profile here.
Community Health Centers are invaluable resources, especially in rural areas where access to an alternative, like a hospital, can mean traveling long distances. Also known as Federally Qualified Health Centers, these facilities are a critical part of the healthcare safety net, serving low-income, uninsured, and underserved populations. It is essential that these centers be able to remain open and operational through a power outage.
The Solar+Storage Microgrids for Rural Community Health Centers Project aims to build energy resilience in Community Health Centers to improve access to reliable health care in low-income, rural communities across eight states in the Southeast – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee – and six federally recognized Tribes.
The clean, resilient energy systems developed through this project will benefit up to 175 health center sites, ensuring energy reliability for critical medical equipment, refrigeration of insulin and vaccines, and continuity of care during emergencies and power outages. Collectively, participating health centers could save up to $45 million in energy costs, avoid millions in losses due to closures, decrease harmful emissions, and create a scalable, replicable model for remote health care providers, strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities across the country.
The Solar+Storage Microgrids for Rural Community Health Centers Project is a collaboration between Clean Energy Group and the CHARGE Partnership – comprised of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), Capital Link, and Collective Energy Company. Clean Energy Group is serving as the Principal Investigator for this seven-year initiative, leading progress tracking and reporting, identifying solar and energy storage incentives and market opportunities, providing technical support, and supporting dissemination and partner engagement activities.
The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstration through the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program, a component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Funding available through the project will cover up to 70% of the cost to assess, design, and install solar and battery systems at participating health centers. These funds can likely be combined with available federal clean energy tax credits to cover the full expense of the solar+storage system.
TO APPLY: Health centers may submit an application form to participate in this initiative. Applications will remain open and rolling until funds have been allocated. Detailed application information is available on the NACHC website here.
