Groundswell, in partnership with Community Church Atlanta, Stryten Energy, InterUrban Solar, the City of Atlanta, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and GM, celebrated the construction launch of one of the first community-owned resilience hubs in the Southeast on April 30.
The Community Resilience Hub, located at the Vicars Community Center at the Community Church Atlanta, will have a 34.1 kW DC solar installation and utilize 320 kWh of battery storage. This hub will provide a safe gathering place for community members during emergencies or severe weather events. It will also support the Community Church’s ongoing service to the community, providing meals to 300-400 families weekly and serving as a meeting place for local organizations.
Groundswell works with community partners to build resilience hubs at centralized locations where community members can access reliable power for their essential devices, receive information during emergencies, and store medications sensitive to temperature. The Community Resilience Hub at the Vicars Community Center is an essential precaution against the effects of climate change that are already being felt across the country and around the world.
The Vicars Community Center project was made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Elective Pay, which delivers community ownership. The project also received a low-income bonus tax credit allocation associated with Section 48e of the IRA.
Groundswell and leaders from the Community Church worked together to meet the neighborhood’s greatest needs while building upon the groundwork laid by the Breaking Barriers project. Georgia-based company Stryten Energy designed, manufactured, and installed the battery, which can provide three days of backup power for critical uses during power outages.
The Community Resilience Hub will be owned by the Community Church, thanks to the dedicated efforts of its leaders and funding support from the GM Foundation, a donation by Stryten Energy, and the direct pay solar tax credit provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Wells Fargo Foundation provides ongoing support to advance community ownership of resilience hubs like the one at the Community Church Atlanta, as Wells Fargo has been a key partner in Groundswell’s work designing and implementing a financial model that leverages the IRA’s direct pay provision to deliver community ownership. InterUrban Solar is leading engineering, procurement, and construction alongside SunCatch Energy.
