Creating solar microgrids

Electricity microgrids operate independently from the traditional utility grid and are especially useful in rural areas and aging urban centers. Microgrids have economic and resilience benefits and can be powered by a low-carbon combination of solar and batteries. The 2026 update to this Toolbox item reports on the completion of microgrids for Albuquerque and Santa Barbara school districts, and on new community-driven projects in Bronzeville, Illinois, Salem and Beaverton, Oregon, and three tribal Band projects near San Diego.

Prohibiting methane in buildings

In 2019, Berkeley, California was the first U.S. city to pass a ban on adding natural gas infrastructure to new buildings. The ordinance was voided by a narrow court ruling in 2023, but more than 160 U.S. jurisdictions have come up with alternative actions to stop methane use in buildings. These actions include: putting limits on new natural gas piping, limiting indoor air pollution (which mostly comes from gas appliances), and requiring levels of energy efficiency or emissions which using gas in a building can’t achieve. See the Toolbox article for details.