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Rural health centers across Tennessee are getting solar microgrids

Courtesy Andreas Gücklhorn/Unsplash
Solar panels with batteries can function as "microgrids."
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Rural health centers in Tennessee may soon be better prepared for future power outages. 

The U.S. Department of Energy is providing grants to install solar microgrids across the Southeast.

Selected health centers will get solar panels and battery systems that can operate like a mini grid: If the power goes out, these health centers can still offer critical services like ventilation, dialysis and refrigeration for cold drugs like insulin. 

Health centers tend to serve lower-income populations in rural areas, and each grantee will be located in or near communities considered disproportionately overburdened by pollution. 

The funding comes from the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will support up to 175 sites across eight states. The Department of Energy says the microgrids will lower power bills and reduce financial losses during outages. 

Caroline Eggers, Environmental Reporter

Caroline Eggers covers environmental issues with a focus on equity for WPLN News through Report for America, a national service program that supports journalists in local newsrooms across the country. Before joining the station, she spent several years covering water quality issues, biodiversity, climate change and Mammoth Cave National Park for newsrooms in the South. Her reporting on homelessness and a runoff-related “fish kill” for the Bowling Green Daily News earned her 2020 Kentucky Press Association awards in the general news and extended coverage categories, respectively. Beyond deadlines, she is frequently dancing, playing piano and photographing wildlife and her poodle, Princess. She graduated from Emory University with majors in journalism and creative writing.

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