Solar helped rural NC survive a hurricane, but the future is uncertain

Solar helped rural NC survive a hurricane, but the future is uncertain

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

June 27, 2025, 7:00 a.m. ET

When Hurricane Helene barreled into western North Carolina last September, the 600-person town of Hot Springs braced for the worst. Nestled in the Pisgah National Forest, the town is known more for its natural beauty than its infrastructure. With a single power line delivering electricity to the entire community and no backup generator, residents expected the storm's damage would leave them in the dark for weeks.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, a first-of-its-kind solar microgrid developed by Duke Energy stepped in, dramatically reducing what could have been a multi-week power outage to just a few days.

A community powered by the sun

Installed in 2023, the Hot Springs microgrid consists of a 2-megawatt solar array and a 4.4-megawatt battery storage system designed to supply emergency electricity in case the town's primary substation fails.

That's exactly what happened on September 27. The Marshall substation that powers Hot Springs was nearly destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Helene. Repairs would take weeks. But on October 2, just five days after the storm, the microgrid isolated itself from the main grid and began providing power to Hot Springs. It kept the downtown core running continuously and served much of the rest of the town during daylight hours until power was fully restored on October 8.

It was a breakthrough moment. As towns across the region struggled with outages, Hot Springs demonstrated how clean, renewable power could not only reduce emissions but also protect lives and livelihoods.

Local leadership, long-term vision

Mayor Abigail Norton supported the microgrid from the beginning, even when some residents were skeptical. "Residents knew the microgrid was here. But it had only delivered power once," she said. "Now, I think people are glad it's here."

The town's geographic isolation made traditional grid upgrades impractical. Running a second distribution line through mountainous, wooded terrain would have been costly and environmentally disruptive. Fossil fuel generators weren't a viable solution, either.

That's where Duke's solar and battery system filled a critical gap: delivering reliable, emissions-free backup power from a "black start" situation, when no other energy sources were online.

What's at stake without clean energy support

The Hot Springs microgrid didn't appear out of nowhere. It was the result of years of collaboration between Duke Energy, the Energy Innovation Task Force and regional advocates like Ned Doyle, who championed the integration of battery storage and renewables into the regional grid.

It also benefited from the growing national support for clean energy through energy tax credits and funding incentives, including those in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These incentives help lower the cost of installing cutting-edge technology like the solar-plus-storage system in Hot Springs.

But now, that support is in jeopardy. The future of these tax credits—and the innovative projects they make possible—is uncertain.

The concern is real. Duke Energy has already begun testing similar microgrids in other areas, including fire stations, military bases and emergency centers. These projects depend on the same tax structures and incentives that helped Hot Springs weather the storm.

"If these incentives go away, the pipeline of future projects dries up," said Doyle. "The Hot Springs model works—and we're just getting started. But we can't do this without stable federal support."

A model for the country

The success of the Hot Springs microgrid is already inspiring interest from utilities and municipalities nationwide. In an era of increasingly intense storms, rural communities are especially vulnerable and especially in need of solutions like this.

For Mayor Norton, the next big test will be during winter storms. "We want it to work when there is an outage during cold weather," she said. "That will be key."

But one thing is already clear: clean energy isn't just about reducing carbon emissions. It's about keeping the lights on, supporting economic recovery and ensuring resilience for small towns like Hot Springs, which are too often left behind.