Gary’s Power Outage Highlights Importance of Solar for All

Stephen Mays and Lori Latham, residents of Gary, Indiana, shared an experience that thousands in their community can relate to. After violent storms and tornadoes ravaged their region, they were left without power for up to two weeks. This has been regarded as one of the longest power outages in contemporary American history.

Mays serves as an insurance agent and is the president of the local NAACP chapter in Gary, found himself in the difficult position of helping clients who had suffered significant property damage due to falling trees or broken windows. Similarly, Latham, a member of the Gary City Council, faced the dual responsibility of looking after her constituents and her family, including her children and 91-year-old father.

Describing the experience, Latham stated, “We were without refrigeration, without lights, leading a community that was suffering collectively. Many of the homes were underinsured or uninsured, many people in the community had underlying health issues. Trying to get through that was extremely difficult.”

Both Mays and Latham believe that the deployment of solar panels and batteries throughout Gary could have significantly eased the burden on residents. This solution would have permitted individuals to charge vital electronic devices like phones and computers, refrigerate food and medicine, operate medical equipment, and provide basic lighting in the midst of the storm’s aftermath.

As it happens, just the previous year, Mays, Latham, and a group of local leaders were striving to make this vision a reality. They had plans to utilize federal funds to equip the city with hundreds of rooftop solar arrays, battery storage, community solar energy, and microgrids. Part of this plan included establishing at least one resiliency hub in a community center downtown, where residents could access power and support in times of crisis.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Indiana received a total of $117 million intended for the installation of solar, battery, and microgrid systems in disadvantaged communities. A substantial portion of this funding had been allocated to support the projects in Gary, which would have also created around 100 jobs in a city known for its economic struggles.

Latham expressed a profound sense of disappointment, which had been mounting as she observed successive environmental justice and equity initiatives being cut short following the commencement of President Trump’s second term.

The funds distributed via the Solar for All program were managed by the Indiana Community Action Association, a nonprofit organization. The funding was distributed among seven recipients, which included the cities of Gary, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis, as well as several other nonprofits.

Black Sun Light Sustainability, a nonprofit led by founder and CEO Denise Abdul-Rahman, was given close to $30 million. The funds were intended for the deployment of 200 residential solar plus storage systems, 50 resiliency hubs with energy storage, and five community solar arrays throughout Indiana.

A number of these initiatives, including one of the community solar projects and about a dozen residential systems, were planned for Gary. This city has been grappling with issues like poverty, decaying infrastructure, unstable housing, and high rates of health problems, all of which are exacerbated by the impact and risk posed by power outages.

Thinking about the missed opportunities, Abdul-Rahman noted, “If they had received those resources, being a year later now, how much resiliency could have been deployed? Lives are at stake, people’s health is at stake. There could have been a lot of economic benefits and work created.”

The primary goal of Indiana’s Solar for All funding was more than just improving resilience. It was aimed at addressing the soaring energy costs — a particularly acute problem in Gary.