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All are cordially invited to the groundbreaking ceremony for our new resilience hub which will give members of the community access to reliable power for their essential devices, help them receive information as emergency situations develop, store medications sensitive to temperature, and safely gather in the aftermath of an emergency or severe weather event.The resilience hub expands our commitment to use our campus to serve area residents beyond our ongoing health, service, and relief initiatives such as hosting blood drives, health screenings, and providing meals to 300-400 families every week. VICARS is also the preferred meeting place for various local organizations, including the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta and Neighborhood Planning Unit S (NPU-S).
BACKGROUND:
The resilience hub will be powered by a 34.1 kW DC solar installation connected to 320 kWh of battery storage. This facility is a centralized, trusted organization where community members can access reliable power for their essential devices, continue to receive information as emergency situations develop, store medications sensitive to temperature, and safely gather in the aftermath of an emergency or severe weather event to allow the community to recover safely and effectively. Community Church of God and the VICARS community center
As the developer for this community resilience hub, Groundswell worked with leaders from the Community Church of God to meet the greatest needs within the neighborhood while building off the groundwork laid by the Breaking Barriers project. Breaking Barriers was part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Solar Energy Innovation Network. Focused on developing a resilience hub design serving the Atlanta University Complex, the project was led by Groundswell working alongside local partners including Partnership for Southern Equity, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morehouse College of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University, and Georgia Power with additional technical support from Georgia Tech.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the VICARS project leverages Elective Pay to deliver community ownership. The project also applied for and received a low-income bonus tax credit allocation associated with Section 48e of the IRA. This community resilience hub also received funding support from the GM Foundation and a donation from Stryten Energy.
This community resilience hub is being funded with support from the GM Foundation. InterUrban Solar — a Black-owned business — is leading engineering, procurement, and construction for this project alongside SunCatch Energy — a fourth-generation, Black-owned business with a track record of successful solar installations. Stryten Energy, a Georgia-based company, is procuring and installing the battery, allowing the resilience hub to provide three days of backup power for critical uses during power outages. The Wells Fargo Foundation is providing ongoing support to advance community ownership of resilience hubs like the one at the Community Church of God in Atlanta.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
838 Cascade Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30311-2619, United States