Asheville nonprofit reduces energy burdens in North Carolina

Mutual aid program Light Up Navajo is helping families get connected to the power grid through volunteer workers and private and federal funding. Over the past five years, crews have built miles of powerlines across the reservation, powering nearly 850 households, many of whom are receiving power for the first time.

The government-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is meant to help households across the United States keep afford the cost of heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

Virtual power plants are emerging in the United States and partnering with utility companies to manage energy demand during extreme weather and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These plants are actually a portfolio of energy resources, anything from smart appliances in homes to solar panels and electric vehicle infrastructure outside of homes, that are tracked and managed digitally. This enables virtual power plants to encourage minimal peak energy use, increase the amount of renewable energy sent back to the grid, and decrease the use of peaker power plants that rely on fossil fuels.

Community solar projects like the Oxon Run Community Solar Farm in Washington D.C. give lower-income communities a chance to reduce energy bills while helping the city meet climate goals. These solar farms are typically set up on vacant lots and the electricity is directed to specific users through the grid instead of used onsite.

The Friends of Coyote Hills led a 30-year community campaign that successfully protected 24 acres of threatened habitat from development. Alongside voter mobilization, strategic fundraising, and federal wildlife protections, they secured $70 million toward the purchase of land.

The Oasis project transforms asphalt-covered schoolyards into fresh oases, resulting in 2-4°C temperature drops in the renovated courtyards and also cooling the surrounding school buildings.

California and Texas are among the states in the U.S. installing giant lithium-ion batteries to store renewable energy to use when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. These batteries are reducing the use of fossil fuels as a backup energy source when demand is high.

Memphis Gas Light and Water’s weatherization program is helping city residents prepare their homes for increasingly intense storms in ways that also reduce their energy use from fossil-fuel-derived sources and their utility bills. Contractors may install a new air conditioner or repair walls, but the resident is never charged for the services because ratepayers round up their bills to cover the cost.

Mobile homeowners are buying the land their homes are on to form resident-owned cooperatives so they can upgrade infrastructure faster. This allows them to combat and adapt to climate change by installing things like solar panels and drainage systems.

New Jersey schools are working to make climate education widespread by implementing general education standards that include climate change education in every grade and subject. These new education standards have been inspiring students to brainstorm solutions to climate-related issues like reducing food waste and increasing coastal resiliency. The state has also earmarked $5 million to help local teachers attend professional development sessions to teach them how to create new climate change-focused lesson plans.