DOEE Awards $540,000 for Resilient Energy Technology to the F.H. Faunteroy Community Enrichment Center Resilience Hub

CONTACT: Nicole Goines, PIO, (202) 536-7666, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, DC, March 13, 2024— The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) is pleased to announce the award of $540,000 to the F.H. Faunteroy Community Enrichment Center (Faunteroy Center) for the development of a microgrid system to support the Center’s role as a resilience hub. This system, integrating solar, battery storage, and a controller, will fortify the Faunteroy Center's role as a resilience hub by providing clean backup power during grid outages.

Since 2017, DOEE has been collaborating with the Faunteroy Center and the Ward 7 Resilience Hub Community Coalition (RHCC) to support their effort to establish the District’s first resilience hub. The Faunteroy Center is in Deanwood, an underserved community in the District that is a priority area due to its high risk to the impacts of climate change. Located on the first floor of ‘The Nannie@4800 NHB,’ a multifamily New Communities project providing affordable housing, the Faunteroy Center offers many services that build community resilience including youth programming, environmental education, workforce development and community outreach. The microgrid system will allow the Center to provide essential emergency services to residents during power outages, including cell phone charging, refrigeration of medication, and more. The solar project will be led by Greenscape Environmental Services, a Ward 7 based Certified Business Enterprise, in collaboration with American Microgrid Solutions.

13031. District’s Climate Ready DC, Resilient DC, Clean Energy DC, and Sustainable DC plans call for the creation of a network of community resilience hubs throughout the District that are located within walking distance of residents, particularly those who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (e.g., flooding, and extreme heat). This pilot project will help inform how District government can support a broader network of resilience hubs to equitably improve communities’ preparedness for the impacts climate change.

"This innovative resilient hub pilot project at the Faunteroy Center is an important step in helping the District meet its clean energy and climate resilience goals while reducing impacts of climate-related emergencies in the District’s most vulnerable neighborhoods,” said DOEE Director Richard Jackson. “We look forward to expanding and embracing these practices with future projects as the District strives for environmentally responsible and resilient communities.”

13031. Resilience Hub rollout based on the RHCC blueprint is being spearheaded by the Faunteroy Center, “Through this project, we once again demonstrate promising practices based on a multi-partner approach with DC Government for the successful rollout of resilience hubs, said Faunteroy Center Executive Director Dr. Estelle-Marie Montgomery.

DOEE is developing this project as part of the Inclusive Shared Solar Initiative (ISSI), a cohort of states organized by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA) to increase the inclusiveness of solar energy projects around the country through information sharing and technical and financial assistance. The Faunteroy Center has also received additional funding support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through a community grant from Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton and from the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for this project will be held at the Faunteroy Center (4800 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE, Washington, DC 20019) on March 14, 2024 from 3pm to 4pm. This event celebrates the kick-start of the Resilience Power System (Solar + Battery Backup) and Resilience Programming space installation and buildout.

For more information about this project, please visit Community Resilience Hubs and the Faunteroy Community Enrichment Center.