HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — One Boys & Girls Club of North Alabama cut the ribbon to their new microgrid.
This microgrid provides clean power separate from the utility grid but how will this impact kids and the community?
"Everybody needs energy. Energy is, is a fundamental requirement in any society, if you don't have energy, nothing else can really function," said Strategic Account Director for FTI, Mike Collom. "Every kilowatt-hour goes either to the building or to the batteries for eventual use in the building."
So, not only does this microgrid supply power to the Boys & Girls Club, it also provides inspiration to the boys and girls that go here.
What will kids be learning from the microgrid?
Collom says, "From an education perspective, the connection with kids and green energy isn't just solar panels on roofs, it's managing the energy, it's understanding the energy production as well as consumption and then how do you have the right electricity at the right place at the right time."
CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of North Alabama, Patrick Wynn, is grateful for the new project.
"I know what the Club did for me and being exposed going on field trips, seeing different businesses, and so big-picture-wise, if we let the kids know, you know, green energy, saving money, you know, saving our community and let kids know that, hey, these are things that you can get involved in and be an integral part of your community as you grow up, no matter where you where you call home."
Fortunately for the rest of the Northern Alabama community, the Club plans on using this grid to serve those beyond just the boys and girls.
"I remember 2011 with the major tornadoes and so everybody's without power. and so we're in a type of community today - if something like that would happen, we could open our doors and be a safe zone for the community and for our kids and their parents and so, that's what we're about at Boys & Girls because we're about community. We serve kids but at the same time, if we can do something to extend our services to the family, you know, we're all about that at the Boys & Girls Club."