Google Backs 361 kWh Battery Resilience Hubs in Two Former Coal
- Emergency & Local Government Microgrids News
Marin Holt
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- 5 minutes read
- Dungannon: 30.5 kW solar array with 115 kWh of storage at the town's historic depot building
- Duffield: 75.6 kW solar array with 246 kWh of storage at the Appalachian Harvest produce facility
- Combined across both sites: 106 kW of solar and 361 kWh of battery storage
- Funded by a Google grant through the Sharing the Power Foundation, with Invest Appalachia and the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund
- Google has not disclosed the grant amount; construction and commissioning are expected in 2026
Appalachian Voices, a regional nonprofit, will install solar-and-battery microgrids at two community buildings in Dungannon and Duffield, Virginia, using grant funding from Google through the Sharing the Power Foundation. The two systems together provide 106 kW of solar generation and 361 kWh of battery storage, sized to keep critical building systems running during multi-day grid outages in a region that faces frequent severe weather.
What Is Being Built
The Dungannon project consists of a 30.5 kW solar array paired with 115 kWh of battery storage at the town’s historic depot building, which serves as a community center, public library, and meeting space for the Dungannon Community Association. Solar Alliance of Knoxville, Tennessee, will install the system. The building was already upgraded with a heat pump and weatherization improvements in 2025, reducing baseline consumption before the microgrid was sized.
The Duffield project consists of a 75.6 kW solar array with 246 kWh of battery storage at the Appalachian Harvest building operated by Appalachian Sustainable Development. Appalachian Harvest processes, stores, and markets locally grown produce to distributors, food banks, and civic organizations across the southeastern United States. Tiger Solar of Charlottesville, Virginia, will install this system. Both projects are expected to complete construction and commissioning in 2026. Additional financing comes from Invest Appalachia and the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund.
Why It Matters
Southwest Virginia’s coalfield communities sit in a high-risk weather corridor with limited grid redundancy. The Appalachian Harvest site in Duffield presents a food-security case: the cooperative stores and refrigerates perishable produce before distribution to food banks across southeastern Virginia. A grid outage without backup power means lost inventory and disrupts those distribution chains. Battery-backed solar prevents that disruption at a scale matched to the communities being served. Dungannon Mayor Melissa Gillenwater stated the project will reduce the town’s electricity bills year-round and provide emergency backup power at the depot resilience hub.
Critical Perspective
Google has not disclosed the grant amount for this project. Without a dollar figure, assessing cost per kWh or comparing this investment against programs like USDA Community Facilities loans or FEMA Hazard Mitigation grants is not possible. At 106 kW combined solar capacity, these are among the smallest systems covered by energy trade press. The food-security function at Appalachian Harvest and the emergency shelter role at Dungannon justify the investment at a scale appropriate to the communities being served, but the undisclosed funding amount makes replication difficult for other rural communities evaluating similar projects.
