Land of Sky presenter says $5 million DEQ award will fund 24 microgrids and two mobile "beehive" hubs across six counties

Ian Bailey, a regional planner with Land of Sky Regional Council, told Buncombe County commissioners that a partnership with Footprint Project has delivered solar panels, battery storage and Starlink connectivity to communities after a recent storm, and that the group has received a $5,000,000 DEQ award to build community resilience hubs across six counties.

Bailey said initial deployments after the storm included ground‑mounted arrays, trailer microgrids, and smaller portable battery units that supported refrigeration, medical devices and communications in hard‑hit communities. "By the end of the month, there was over 100 kilowatts of PV deployed. We had over 250 kilowatt‑hours of battery storage. The sites reported back a cumulative total of over 2,000 people per day served through those sites," he said, and added that more than $1 million of donated and flowed‑in assets supported the response.

The DEQ award is intended to fund up to four fixed microgrid sites in each of six counties (Rutherford, Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery), for a maximum of 24 stationary sites, plus two "beehive" mobile response hubs (one planned for Western North Carolina and one for Eastern) that would host mobile trailer units, batteries, tools and spares to support nearby community hubs. Bailey said the project will include a mix of permanently mounted photovoltaics with either stationary battery installations or mobile battery trailers, plus smaller deployable units and community training and workshops.

Bailey described the "beehive" concept as a base station that can recharge and redistribute mobile units ("bees") to community hubs during disruptions; the hive would also support maintenance, repairs and educational activities during routine operations. He said Footprint Project has experimented with a "solar free store" in Mars Hill that redistributes otherwise‑unused components and conducts local workshops.

Bailey said site selection is underway, the grant supports advanced assistance and construction phases, and the team anticipates issuing an RFQ in the coming months; the first round of site selections and a target schedule for siting the two beehives are expected by the end of the year, with continued deployment through 2026 and into early 2027.

Commissioners thanked Bailey and asked about tradeoffs between fixed microgrids and mobile units; Bailey said resilience is best achieved by a combination of fixed community hubs that are already used in "blue skies" and mobile assets that can be redeployed where needed.