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# Power to the parish
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/power-to-the-parish/
- Published: 2026-09-16T00:31:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-16T00:31:58.000Z
- Description: Renewable energy is providing backup power to vulnerable neighborhoods. But some energy entrepreneurs see them as a replacement for the main grid many years in the future.
- Author: Mukul Verma
- Tags: News, Last Call

The new solar panels at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Scotlandville promise more than smaller electricity bills. They are part of a national experiment with renewable energy microgrids: local systems designed to keep the lights on when storms buckle the wider power network.

Interest in microgrids is surging. Falling solar costs—and emerging technologies such as [deep geothermal energy](https://www.quaise.com/?ref=redeyebr.com)—increase the likelihood that local systems could supply entire neighborhoods, rather than only providing emergency power. Analysts expect the global microgrid market to expand by roughly 16-18% a year, exceeding $160 billion by 2035.

The North Baton Rouge church hosts Baton Rouge’s second such installation under Together Louisiana’s Community Lighthouse Project. Of the project’s 20 sites, most are concentrated around New Orleans. Baton Rouge’s first is at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Training Center on Tom Drive.

More are planned for vulnerable parts of the city, with support from community organizations including Together Baton Rouge. Their purpose is resilience. Their greater significance may be in demonstrating that microgrids can become not just a backup to the main grid, but an alternative to it.

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