More than 70% of Americans have experienced an extreme weather event, with that percentage likely to rise in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These hurricanes and other natural disasters have reinforced the need for resources – namely, resilience hubs – for states across the American South. 

Resilience hubs usually take the form of a community facility, which serves to support residents in times of disruption during a natural disaster, or power outage. These centers also have specialized resources that allow them to prepare for and operate during a disaster, and help during recovery efforts. Today, many of these centers are being powered by reliable, locally-sourced clean energy.

The Central Pines Regional Council in North Carolina is embarking on an ambitious project to plan a network of resilience hubs, with support from the Department of Energy (DOE). This initiative aims to strengthen the community’s ability to withstand and recover from disruptions, whether they be natural disasters, power outages, or public health crises.

What Are Resilience Hubs?

“Resilience hubs are a lot of different things to different people,” said Langston Alexander, Regional Recovery & Resilience Coordinator for Central Pines Regional Council.  “We’re looking at faith-based organizations, nonprofits, community-based organizations, and sometimes public libraries serving as resilience hubs that offer resources during the recovery of a disaster, and year-round,” said Alexander.

We’re looking at faith-based organizations, nonprofits, community-based organizations, and sometimes public libraries serving as resilience hubs that offer resources during the recovery of a disaster, and year-round.

At its core, a resilience hub is a community facility designed to provide essential services in times of need. The 18 hubs envisioned by the Central Pines Regional Council will be equipped to provide energy through solar power and battery storage, ensuring they can operate independently during power outages. Beyond energy resilience, the hubs are flexible enough to support other community needs, such as providing space for remote learning, childcare or food distribution–or are simply a place to charge a cell phone during an outage.

The Importance of a Regional Approach

The Central Pines region, which includes cities like Durham and Chapel Hill, has long been at the forefront of collaboration among local governments. In 2017, the region conducted a resilience assessment, identifying key vulnerabilities and highlighting the need for proactive measures. The resilience hubs concept emerged from this assessment, inspired by successful models in cities like Baltimore and Atlanta.

“One of the strategies that came out of the regional resilience assessment we did in 2018, was to focus on hubs as a concept,” said John Richardson, Community Sustainability Manager for the City of Chapel Hill, NC. “Why not include a network component to this work, so that what you learn at one location could be shared with another, and vice versa. This idea reflects the level of commitment Central Pines is making to the community.”

By working together, the seven counties and 40 local governments that make up the Central Pines region can share knowledge and resources, ensuring that resilience solutions are scalable and tailored to the specific needs of each community. Whether it’s a rural county like Chatham, or an urban area like Durham, the flexibility of the resilience hub model means it can be adapted to serve different populations effectively.

A Federally-Funded Community Approach

While the resilience hubs are still in the planning phase, the project’s foundation is rooted in community input. Local governments, facility operators, and residents will have a say in how these hubs evolve. What resources are most needed in times of disruption? What can be improved in existing community centers or libraries to make them more resilient? These are the kinds of questions the project aims to answer through a combination of community conversations and technical assessments.

“The DOE grant really makes it possible to plan for and implement strategies that would better support what we are already thinking of as our resilience hubs in Chapel Hill,” said Richardson. “Because it is a Department of Energy grant, we’re looking at the resiliency, carbon reduction and technical innovation sides of this work, but at the end of the day the focus is really about people.”

The DOE grant will help fast-track some of these initiatives by funding the integration of solar power and battery storage. The goal is to ensure that the hubs are energy-efficient and can operate independently during emergencies. By starting with a solid technical foundation, and assessing each site’s energy needs and efficiency, the project team can create hubs that are not only prepared for the next disaster, but also contribute to reducing carbon emissions year-round.

Looking Ahead

The Central Pines Resilience Hub initiative is still in its early stages, with much of the work focused on planning and community engagement. However, the project team is hopeful that within the next year, tangible results will emerge. In five years, the hope is that these hubs will not only be operational but also serve as a model for other regions looking to build resilience in the face of uncertainty.

“We’re just starting those conversations with community members, community-based organizations, and local governments about what these hubs could look like,” said Alexander. “We’re asking ‘how do we integrate it into what we already have and then build upon that in the future?’ I hope that residents will see how our community can be more resilient, and that the hubs are something people talk about and think about more consistently going forward.”