Title: Solar + Storage for Resiliency 

Image

Funding OpportunitySolar Market Pathways
SunShot SubprogramSoft Costs
Location: San Francisco, CA
Amount Awarded: $1,321,200
Awardee Cost Share: $288,971

San Francisco’s Solar+Storage for Resiliency project serves as a national model for integrating solar and energy storage into existing disaster preparedness plans. The project team is working closely with stakeholders to overcome regulatory, financial, and technical barriers to create a roadmap for deploying solar with storage for resilience. For more information on this award and the Solar Market Pathways program, visit their website

APPROACH

The San Francisco Department of Environment is working with the Department of Emergency Management to conduct a survey of city departments to develop a list of emergency facilities and their energy use. The team will then map out the city in order to identify buildings that have critical and essential power demands, and group them into solar+storage microgrids where proximity allows. These maps will cover the 11 supervisory districts in the city and identify power needs should a disaster strike, buildings with solar that are already a part of disaster preparedness plans, and areas where a microgrid could potentially be installed. Ultimately, the team will produce four case studies that will explain how solar+storage would work at a fire station, a police station, a building used for shelter, and another critical power-need building.  

INNOVATION

Like many cities throughout the country, San Francisco is creating more comprehensive disaster response plans to prepare for climate change-related emergencies. By adding solar to this effort, San Francisco will increase neighborhood resilience and mitigate the effects of power outages during a disaster. The team aims to develop a report on financing mechanisms leveraging established models and programs, as well as disseminate the report and roadmap to regional, state, and national networks.