Research Project
Between 2020 and 2024, PSE Healthy Energy partnered with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) to identify opportunities to build solar+energy storage resilience hubs at schools, community centers, and places of worship across California. APEN defines resilience hubs as “physical institutions that offer space for community members to gather, organize, and access resilience-building social services on a daily basis, and provide response and recovery services in disaster situations.” Our analysis focuses on solar+storage resilience hubs, which can deliver distinct advantages for community resilience by keeping essential services online during power outages and providing clean energy year-round.
Under the project, PSE provides a top-down view of climate resilience needs and resilience hubs potential across California. Our analysis includes a statewide population vulnerability assessment that identifies climate-vulnerable communities based on a range of climate, environmental, and socioeconomic stressors. In addition, we develop solar+storage designs for nearly 20,000 potential resilience hub sites and identify regional trends that make building resilience easier or harder across the state.
APEN and CBE provide a bottom-up view of building resilience in California communities, including insights on what it takes to actually design a resilience hub that reflects local needs and priorities. Their work includes case studies and the challenges and successes of on-the-ground deployment efforts in Richmond and Oakland in the Bay Area and in the Wilmington neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Publications and Resources
Through this project PSE, CBE, and APEN co-authored the report Building Community Resilience Across California. This report, along with a range of related interactive data tools and publications were developed to provide guidance to policymakers, community-based organizations, government agencies, and other state and local actors on both individual hub design, as well as broader policies and programs to support resilience hub deployment.
Technical Methods
PSE Research
Data Tool
Candidate Resilience Hub Mapping Tool
The Candidate Resilience Hub Mapping Tool allows users to explore opportunities for resilience hubs throughout California.
Data Tool
California Public Safety Power Shutoff Interactive Map
The Public Safety Power Shutoff Map displays the frequency and duration of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) outages in California.
Factsheet
Solar+Storage Design Tradeoffs Factsheet
The Solar+Storage Design Tradeoffs factsheet provides information on the pros and cons of different solar+storage designs.
Blog
Designing Solar and Storage for Community Resilience Hubs
Blog exploring some of the trade-offs between economic and resilience considerations in solar+storage resilience hub design.
Blog
Preventing Wildfires with Power Outages
Blog exploring trends in Public Safety Power Shutoffs in California.
Blog
Mapping Public Safety Power Shutoffs
Blog exploring PSE maps of PSPS outages across investor-owned utility service territories.
Blog
As Temperatures Soar, Access to Cooling Becomes Environmental Justice Concern
Blog examining link between extreme heat and energy reliability in urban and vulnerable communities.
CBE Resources
Website
Community-led Resilience Hubs Project Page
The Climate Adaptation and Resilience Enhancement (CARE) program works to build climate resilience and increase adaptive capacity via emergency preparedness, community care, resilient homes and local resilience hubs.
Manual
Care Manual: The Community’s Resilience Book
The Public Safety Power Shutoff Map displays the frequency and duration of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) outages in California.
Blog
Combatting Climate Doomism with Climate Resilience
The Care Manual: The Community’s Resilience Book provides information, community-driven case studies, and CBE’s recommendations for Wilmington and Richmond communities.
Blog
How We’re Resisting Climate Change in Wilmington, CA
Blog describes CBE’s work supporting climate resilience in Wilmington, California.
APEN Resources
Website
RYSE Commons Resilience and Liberation Hub
APEN has partnered with RYSE to design the RYSE Commons as a Resilience and Liberation Hub in Richmond, CA.
Website
APEN: Our Work
Overview of APEN’s resilience work.
Questions?
Contact the Project Team
- Elena Krieger at PSE Healthy Energy (krieger@psehealthyenergy.org)
- Shina Robinson at Asian Pacific Environmental Network (shina@apen4ej.org)
- Laura Gracia at Communities for a Better Environment (laura@cbecal.org)
