No Halo News · Sourced development
Beacon of Hope adds a solar microgrid designed to keep food and emergency services operating during outages
Independent public-radio reporting documented completion of a solar-and-battery microgrid at Beacon of Hope's Marshall community hub, which operates a food pantry, laundromat and thrift store. The system backs up the building's freezers, coolers and other equipment and stores an estimated 68 kilowatt-hours, enough for at least one day without sunlight. Beacon is the first host in a planned 26-site Western North Carolina resilience project.
Status matters. This page records a sourced development, not a completed No Halo investigation. An allegation is not a finding. Dismissals, settlements, judgments, corrections and final outcomes remain distinct.
Donor relevance
Why this matters
Backup power can protect stored food and allow the hub to continue providing food, laundry, communications and safe indoor space during disasters. The improvement directly addresses service continuity in a region that experienced major storm-related outages.
Attribution
Who reported or established this
BPR reporter Katie Myers documented the installation. Technical capacity estimates came from project personnel, while service-volume and demand figures came from Beacon director Jessi Koontz.
Evidence limits
What remains unverified
No Halo has not observed the system during an extended outage or verified how long it will operate under full load. Beacon's statement that it assists about 1,600 families weekly and has experienced a roughly 50% rise in hunger was not independently audited in the consulted reporting.
Right of reply
Organization response
Director Jessi Koontz said Beacon sought to become a host site so existing food, emergency and communications resources could remain available when the wider electrical grid fails.
Classification
How No Halo records this event
Event type: Operational Expansion. Current state: Resolved. No Halo preserves the current procedural state rather than treating every mention as a finding.
Published September 30, 2026 · Last verified October 1, 2026. See an error or a later outcome? Submit a correction or right of reply.