Resilience Hubs in Austin, Texas: Developing Equitable Climate Infrastructure Developing a Strategic Planning Framework and Innovative Financing Mechanisms By: Summer Sandoval 

 

Image Credit: Alex Walker, Smart Volta 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Client: City of Austin, Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) 

Spring 2019| Professors: Ira Stern & Jaime Stein | Graduate Center for Planning and the 

Environment | Sustainable Environmental Systems | Demonstration of Professional Competence  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About Parks: 

 

The Austin Parks and Recreation department has 695 full time employees. The city agency 

has influence throughout Austin as the stewards of the City’s 18,714 acres of parkland since 

1928. Currently, Parks operates 2,923 facilities and 300 parks in Austin.    

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Other City of Austin Partners: 

 

 

 

 

 

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Terminology: 

1. Resilience: Also referred to as climate adaptation; these are actions that manage                       

the impacts of disasters and climate change such as flood proofing buildings.  

2. Sustainability: Also referred to as climate mitigation; these are actions that mitigate                       

the impacts of climate change such as greenhouse gas reduction.  

3. Resilient Power: Also known as energy assurance, is the ability to provide needed                         

power independent of the electrical grid.  

4. Resilience Hub: A resilience hub can be any building that is equipped with resilient                           

power, which is usually solar power and battery storage. Resilience hubs are                       

typically retrofitted from recreation centers, schools, critical services, and                 

multi-family residential buildings.  

5. Environmental Justice: Also referred to as climate justice, describes people and                     

communities that endure disproportionate negative impacts from environmental               

degradation and climate risks.  

6. Climate Infrastructure: Built and physical attributes that mitigate and adapt to                     

extreme climate events such as hurricanes, heat waves, blizzards, etc. 

7. Sustainability Investors: Investors that fund sustainability and resiliency               

infrastructure projects such as solar + battery storage technology retrofits on                     

existing buildings through citywide requirements and incentive programs.  

8. Co-benefits: Added benefits from controlling the impacts of climate change. These                     

are often described as indirect benefits or positive externalities.  

9. Resilience Fund: A long-term and self-supported public fund used to finance 

upfront capital costs of sustainability and resiliency projects that provide 

widespread community co-benefits.  

10. Climate Planning: Urban planning that is focused on long-term climate change 

mitigation and adaptation measures. 

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Chapter 1: Introduction 

Abstract 

The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department aims to develop resilience hubs in                           

Austin, Texas based on the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) 2018 Resilience                       

Hub report . The concept of resilience hubs is at the nexus of climate mitigation,                           1

adaptation, preparedness, and equity to enhance and improve community sustainability                   

and resilience by providing clean, distributed, and reliable off-grid backup power for                       

communities. Recent and projected increases in extreme climate-related disasters and                   

hazards have highlighted the importance of community climate planning. 

Climate change is causing evermore intensified and increasingly frequent extreme weather                     

events. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , in 2017 the                       2

United States suffered $300 billion dollars worth of damages from climate-related events.                       

And $265 billion was spent to address the damages from sixteen hurricanes alone. These                           

events are not only costly economically, but also cause incalculable damage socially and                         

environmentally.  

Also in 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, located just 165 miles or a three hour                               

drive from Austin. According to the National Hurricane Center , “over 300,000 structures in                         3

that region were flooded, with up to 500,000 cars reported flooded as well. About 336,000                             

customers lost power during the hurricane. An estimated 40,000 flood victims were                       

evacuated to or took refuge in shelters across Texas or Louisiana. FEMA reported that                           

about 30,000 water rescues were conducted during Harvey.” Harvey resulted in $125 billion                         

dollars in damages lamenting it as the most costly storm in 2017 and second most costly                               

storm in U.S. history only behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  

The City of Austin is taking steps to implement resiliency measures in city planning and                             

development to manage the effects of climate change and protect the city’s most at-risk                           

and vulnerable communities. 

1 “Resilience Hubs White Paper - Urban Sustainability Directors Network,” 3, accessed April 1, 2019, https://www.usdn.org/public/page/136/Resilience-Hubs. 2 “Berg - Hurricane Harvey.Pdf,” accessed April 1, 2019, https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092017_Harvey.pdf. 3 “Berg - Hurricane Harvey.Pdf,” 9. 

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According to Mercy Corps , extreme climate events have more detrimental impacts on                       4

vulnerable low-income communities. Around the world, people are experiencing both                   

subtle climate stressors such as desertification and heat as well as stark climate shocks                           

such as hurricanes, wildfires, and snowstorms. Poor communities are disinvested and                     

under-resourced, and as a result are at much higher risk to the effects of climate change.                               

These communities are also known as environmental justice communities. According to the                       

Department of Environmental Conservation , environmental justice communities are               5

communities where 50% or more of the population are minorities or live at or below the                               

federal poverty line . 6

Environmental justice communities are often located in environmentally vulnerable areas                   

(such as on floodplains or next to polluted areas), have lower-quality construction                       

materials, are unable to afford regular maintenance for existing infrastructure. These                     

factors all exacerbate their inability to respond and adapt to climate impacts.                       

Environmental justice communities lack the adequate resources to escape from, withstand,                     

and recover from extreme climate disasters, therefore, poor communities are more likely                       

to become climate refugees. From 2015 to 2016, the number of people affected by natural                             

disasters doubled from 102 million to 204 million, and that figure is only increasing. Climate                             

stressors and shocks are forcing people out of their homes and livelihoods. One-third of                           

the planet’s land is no longer fertile for agriculture, and 1.3 billion people on this                             

deteriorating agricultural land .  7

Climate change does not discriminate, but people do. We as a society live in a segregated                               

world that is the culmination of centuries of discrimination by both socioeconomic class                         

and race. Economic and political tools to segregate communities include red-lining,                     

gerrymandering, and racially restrictive deed covenants - legally written restrictions in                     

deeds that excluded classes of people from buying or renting property in particular                         

neighborhoods. What these actions have yielded are physical patterns of segregated,                     

4 Emma Schwartz Information Officer, “Quick Facts: How Climate Change Affects People Living in Poverty,” Mercy Corps, April 10, 2018, https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/climate-change-affects-poverty. 5 “Maps & Geospatial Information System (GIS) Tools for Environmental Justice - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation,” accessed May 4, 2019, https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/911.html. 6 “Poverty Guidelines,” ASPE, November 23, 2015, https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines. 7 Officer, “Quick Facts.” 

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oppressed, and disadvantaged communities that are also the most vulnerable to the                       

effects of climate change. 

Resilience hubs offer a proactive planning intervention to address existing and exacerbated                       

climate justice issues. Resilience Hubs are existing community facilities equipped with                     

localized renewable energy technology and a battery storage system for energy assurance                       

during times of extended or widespread grid outages caused by severe climate events such                           

as hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and heat waves. Schools, libraries, firehouses, police                     

stations, community centers, and affordable housing complexes are good building                   

typologies for a resilience hub retrofit because they are usually distributed throughout                       

cities and have community recognition.  

Resilience hubs also have an important function in the community during non-crisis times                         

to educate and engage community members on climate preparedness best practices,                     

sustainable job trainings and workshops, and emergency response protocols. Resilience                   

hubs are opportunity spaces to involve local residents in citywide and regional climate                         

planning efforts. Resilient infrastructure in the form of resilience hubs is the foundation                         

and support of social resilience.  

It is essential for cities to take the lead in developing resilient climate infrastructure such as                               

resilience hubs. My capstone project focuses on two main components: creating a strategic                         

planning framework for resilience hubs and developing innovative financing mechanisms                   

to create a network of resilience hubs.  

Background 

In its simplest definition, resiliency is a system’s ability to recalibrate or bounce back from a                               

major shock or disruption, and is also known as climate adaptation. Disruptions can include                           

both naturally and artificially induced events that we will refer to as hazards. Hazards pose                             

a serious threat to the electrical grid, and can cause extended and widespread outages for                             

thousands of customers. The people who are most impacted by electrical disruptions are                         

socioeconomically vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. Strategies to reduce the                 

vulnerability of the electrical grid are necessary to minimize impacts of climate change                         

events especially for the high-risk communities. 

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In order to utilize climate planning strategies, it is important to develop renewable sources                           

of energy and create a more distributed energy system to reduce systemic vulnerabilities.                         

resilience hubs are the nexus of climate change adaptation and sustainable energy                       

development. According to Clean Energy Group’s 2015 Resilient Cities Report , “resilient                     8

power, sometimes called ‘energy assurance,’ expresses a simple concept: it is the ability to                           

provide needed power, independent of the grid. Because our electric grids are vulnerable                         

to storms and other disasters, the ability to generate electricity to power critical facilities                           

and infrastructure should the grid go down is paramount in emergency planning.”  

Austin, Texas is a socioeconomically unique U.S. city. It is the city with Majority-Minority,                           

where there is no single ethnic or demographic group that makes up the majority of the                               

City’s population. According to the City of Austin , the City’s Anglo (non-Hispanic white)                         9

population dropped below 50% sometime during 2005, and will be projected to stay that                           

way in the future. Though the city as a whole is racially diverse, issues of equity creates                                 

spatial patterns of division. According to the 2015 Martin Prosperity Institute report,                       

Segregated City , Austin, Texas is the overall most economically segregated large metro                       10

city in the U.S. based on education, income, and occupation. Patterns of economic and                           

racial segregation are closely correlated and apparent in many cities, and Austin is no                           

exception. In Austin, communities of color are clustered around the periphery of the city.                           

Many neighborhoods lack diversity in Austin, which is correlated to the quality of public                           

resources, utilities, and built infrastructure.  

Austin’s patterns of spatial segregation is also linked to physical barriers. Interstate-35 (I-35)                         

cuts through Austin, running vertically through the city. The highway acts as a boundary                           

separating the East side of Austin, where there are significantly higher populations of                         

minorities and immigrants, and lower median household incomes compared to the West                       

side of I-35.   

8 “Resilient-Cities.Pdf,” Google Docs, accessed May 12, 2019, https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ZevYbAbXCqwh2G531wqF7PXHWnnuu1M/view?usp=embed_facebook. 9 “Top Ten Demographic Trends in Austin, Texas | Planning and Zoning | AustinTexas.Gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin,” accessed April 1, 2019, http://www.austintexas.gov/page/top-ten-demographic-trends-austin-texas. 10 “Segregated-City.Pdf,” 56, accessed April 1, 2019, http://martinprosperity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Segregated-City.pdf. 

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Figure 1: Austin, Texas Average Household Income 

 

Figure 2: Austin, Texas US Census Hispanic Population Density by Block Group 

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Figure 3: Austin, Texas US Census Black Population by Block Group 

 

Figure 4: Austin, Texas US Poverty Ratio 

The City of Austin has more agency over its energy generation than other cities because the                               

City owns its electric utility, Austin Energy. This allows the City to guide generation planning                             

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decisions and the City Council has more decision making power over the direction of                           

emissions reduction. In August 2014, the Austin City Council adopted a resolution to reduce                           

carbon dioxide emissions from all City-owned generation resources to zero by 2030 . And                         11

in December of 2014, the council passed the 2025 Generation Plan, which is a resolution                             

that supports renewable energy generation to reach 55% of customer-demand by 2025.                       

Strategies in this plan includes developing 600 megawatts of utility-scale solar, and                       

implementing a plan to develop at least 10 megawatts of energy storage and 20 megawatts                             

of thermal storage.  

The Future 

Austin, Texas has seen rapid demographics changes in the last few decades starting in the                             

early 1990s. From 2000 to 2010, Austin saw a 37.3% overall population increase, and from                             

2010 to 2017, the city experienced another 23.3% population increase . This population                       12

growth does not show signs of stopping in the near future. According to the Census Bureau                               

estimates, Austin will remain one of the country’s top destinations for migrating talent. In                           

2015, Austin ranked first among the 50 largest U.S. metros based on net migration as a                               

percent of total population.  

Austin’s population and commercial growth is showing no signs of stopping in the near                           

future. So it is important for the City to plan for the urban changes of densification and                                 

future impacts of climate change. Austin can leverage population trends to utilize human,                         

social, and built capital to support overall citywide resiliency.  

11 “FINAL_-_OOS_AustinClimatePlan_061015.Pdf,” 26, accessed April 1, 2019, http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Sustainability/FINAL_-_OOS_AustinClimatePlan_061015.pdf. 12 “Population | Greater Austin Profile | Economic Development | Austin Chamber of Commerce,” accessed April 26, 2019, https://www.austinchamber.com/economic-development/austin-profile/population. 

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Figure 5: Austin Metro Area Population Change 2000-2017. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Estimates 

 

Figure 6: Austin, Texas Education Attainment of Persons 25 Years or Older in 2017. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census,                                       American Community Survey 

Chapter 2: Resilience Hub 411 

Resilience hubs are community facilities equipped with solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery                       

storage for energy assurance in times of extended or widespread grid outages due to                           

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severe climate hazards. Resilience hubs function as emergency shelters for the surrounding                       

community during times of disaster or extreme climate. Resilience hubs can be new                         

construction or retrofitted from existing facilities. My past research and capstone project                       

focuses on retrofitting existing building typologies as resilience hubs to utilize and                       

strengthen existing city assets and built capital.  

 

Figure 7: What is a resilience hub by Summer Sandoval 2019 

Resilient power projects require stakeholder identification of “critical facilities”. For the                     

development of resilience hubs, a critical facility will be one that is well-utilized and has                             

cultural and community significance for the surrounding residents. The basic concept for                       

resilience hubs is focused on energy assurance or resilient power. The electrical grid is                           

vulnerable to climate events that may cause both widespread and extended outages as                         

well as short-term brown and black outs, and this is a significant threat because all human                               

systems rely on power. Short-term outages can be caused by interruptions in energy                         

generation and demand of electricity. Hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, firehouses,                   

data centers, police stations, schools, and millions of homes (just to name a few) all rely on                                 

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the electrical grid and provide invaluable societal functions. Any disruptions to the electrical                         

grid threatens millions of people and valuable infrastructure.  

Resilience hubs are not a one size fits all type of intervention. Resilience hubs are flexible                               

and scalable in nature, which is one of the most powerful aspects in adapting to climate                               

change. Along with energy resilience, an effective resilience hub should also be equipped                         

with other attributes that enhances its functionality. These other building characteristics                     

can vary by building typology, community, city, or region.  

For example, a resilience hub in New York City may have flood-proof ground floor and                             

green infrastructure to address local issues of storm surge flooding and on-site stormwater                         

retention and filtration. A hub in NYC would also anticipate hurricanes as the most                           

prevalent climate hazard that threatens the city, and size the solar array and battery                           

storage to provide enough resilient power for anticipated outage durations.  

In Austin, resilience hubs may include rainwater cisterns for rainwater capture and on-site                         

filtration and extensive greenroofs to increase solar panel efficiency due to high average                         13

annual temperatures . High ambient air temperature can impact the performance of solar                       14

panels, so pairing solar arrays with greenroofs allows a building to capitalize on both sets of                               

co-benefits offered by renewable energy and green infrastructure. “Greenroofs do not                     

make it in Austin because they get destroyed by the heat,” said Assistant Director of the                               

Parks and Recreation Department, Liana Kallivoka. Austin sees fifteen hours of solar                       

irradiance, sunlight, during the summer and eleven hours in the winter. Austin is located                           

near the equator and receives direct sun exposure. Solar panels alone lose efficiency in                           

these hot environments. Solar greenroofs increases solar panel efficiency, provides shade                     

to plants to grow, and expands functionality by including stormwater retention, air                       

purification through evapotranspiration, and provide habitat for biodiversity.  

13 “Extensive Green Roof System Design and Consulting,” accessed May 12, 2019, http://www.greenrooftechnology.com/extensive-green-roof. 14 “Kessling et Al. - Feasibility of Combining Solar Panels and Green Ro.Pdf,” 4, accessed May 12, 2019, https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/files/projectupdate/4207/Solar%20with%20Green%20Roof%20design.pdf. 

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Figure 8: Regional variability for resilience hub characteristics 

Resilience hubs are also resources themselves during non-emergency periods. They act as                       

engagement opportunities to educate local residents on the risks of climate events,                       

importance of energy resilience, and best safety practices. These locations may also offer                         

an array of classes, seminars, workshops, and activities related to sustainability topics.  

The potential site should be a facility that is already or likely well-utilized by the                             

surrounding community. Schools, recreation centers, and other community facilities are                   

good sites to analyze as you develop site selection criteria. Criteria that you assess may                             

align with your project goals and the focus areas. Criteria will reflect the community you are                               

planning to serve and the type of hazards that may be anticipated. 

Hub Characteristics 

One of the main aspects of a resilience hub is a renewable energy source. The most                               

common on-site distributed clean energy source is solar PV. Solar panels are becoming                         

more integrated into the energy profiles of many cities. Solar PV innovation makes the                           

technology attractive because it is flexible in design to fit various building typologies and                           

regions. Solar panels can be traditional roof systems, ground-mounted, pavilion or canopy,                       

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or integrated into the building envelope. The economy is also supporting solar                       

development. Since 2009, the cost of solar PV has dropped over 80% and is still falling.                               

Figure 9, shows the relationship between the falling solar prices and the amount of solar PV                               

installed.  

 

 

Figure 9: Falling cost of solar PV and solar PV installations 2009-2017 Source: Solar Energy Industries Association 

The complimentary technology to solar is battery storage. A part of the battery storage                           

system includes a battery-based inverter. This inverter acts as the control between the                         

building system and the electrical grid. When the grid is working the inverter is monitoring                             

the building’s demand by moving excess on-site generated solar energy into the grid and                           

drawing from the grid when the building’s demand is high. The battery-based inverter can                           

also detect abnormalities and changes in the electrical grid and can disconnect or island                           

from the grid to become a resilient microgrid . A traditional grid-tied solar PV system only                             15

has grid-tied inverter, and when the electrical grid is down then the solar PV system turns                               

15 “Dghubresiliencyretrofitfactsheet_final.Pdf,” accessed May 13, 2019, https://nysolarmap.com/media/1639/dghubresiliencyretrofitfactsheet_final.pdf. 

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off as well. A grid-tied system can only interface with the electrical grid when the grid is                                 

operational and does not have islanding capability to operate on its own. Figure 10 and 11                               

show the technology system differences between a traditional grid-tied solar system and a                         

solar and battery storage system.  

 

Figure 10: Traditional grid-tied solar PV system 

 

Figure 11: Solar and battery system with islanding capability  

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When calculating the appropriate capacity for your solar + storage system, it is important to                             

identify the critical load of the building. Critical load is also referred to as emergency load                               

and is the energy demand of all equipment to which power is to be maintained under any                                 

circumstance. Critical load will determine what will be powered in a building by the back-up                             

system even when the electrical grid is down. Consider the use and function of the building                               

as a shelter. Start with the devices and equipment that absolutely must have power during                             

an emergency or grid outage and build a list from there. Research the maximum power                             

draw for each of these devices that you would like to keep running. Power requirements                             

may be specified directly on the device or available online. Then think about how long the                               

building will need to power each device in an emergency situation. A standard metric for                             

critical loads is 20% of the building’s average energy demand. The critical demand will also                             

help you determine the inverter size and appropriate size estimate for battery storage. 

Figure 12: Determining critical load for buildings. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Market Pathways 

The system size of solar power and battery storage is evaluated for the specific building or                               

building typology. Regional needs are also adaptable for example, Austin may implement                       

more stormwater capture and filtration features in their resilience hubs, while New York                         

City may want to flood proof their resilience hubs.  

 19 

  

 

Chapter 3: Who, Where, and Why 

Resilience hubs is both a climate adaptation and environmental justice intervention. The                       

effects of climate change such as extreme heat, drought, hurricanes, blizzards, extreme                       

cold, cloudbursts , wildfires, etc. do not inherently only target populations of poor and                         16

disadvantaged communities. Centuries of segregation and discrimination from               

governments, financial institutions, education systems, and society have all contributed to                     

physical landscape that yields close correlation among income, race, and climate                     

vulnerability.  

Environmental justice communities are areas with either 50% or more minority population                       

and/or 50% or more of the population at or below the Federal Poverty Level. Systematic                             

discrimination disproportionately puts low-income and communities of color,               

environmental justice communities, at high risk of not only climate events but also                         

becoming climate refugees. Climate refugees are people who are forced from their homes                         

or livelihoods due to climate impacts, and search for safer places to reside.  

Sudden climate shocks such as hurricanes, that cause significant damage to built                       

infrastructure leaves environmental justice communities homeless and without resources.                 

For example, after hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, 250,000 people fled from their                             

damaged homes to seek safety in the U.S. mainland . Hurricane Maria destroyed 80% of                           17

the island’s electrical lines. It took six months to restore electrical service to residents, but                             

that was only in urban areas such as San Juan. In rural places, it took 11 months to restore                                     

electricity to people. The aftermath of hurricane Maria was deemed the largest blackout in                           

U.S. history and the deadliest natural disaster to hit U.S. soil. The storm directly killed 1,427                               

people, and indirectly caused the death of over 4,600 people.  

Resilience hub planning calls for site selection criteria that may vary from city to city, but 

standard metrics to include are average household income and race. It is also important to 

16 “Cloudburst Planning - NYC Resiliency,” accessed May 8, 2019, https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/about_dep/cloudburst.shtml. 17 “Puerto Rico Power Restored 11 Months after Hurricane Maria - Vox,” accessed May 8, 2019, https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/15/17692414/puerto-rico-power-electricity-restored-hurricane-maria. 

 20 

  

identify spatial patterns and relationships between income and race because in many 

cities, they are closely correlated. Other characteristics to analyze includes access to public 

transportation, presence of floodplains, sources of pollution, micro-climates, and exposure 

to specific climate hazards.  

Resilient climate infrastructure such as resilience hubs are so important because resilient                       

infrastructure is the foundation of citywide climate resilience as well as social resilience.                         

Resilience hubs help protect people from losing their lives while also bringing people                         

together during times of emergency as well as times of non-crisis to educate the                           

community on the risks of climate change. Resilient infrastructure provides safe and                       

healthy places for people to live, learn, and grow and supports overall community health .                           18

Resilient infrastructure is multi-faceted and offers various co-benefits to the building site                       

and the surrounding communities. For example, a resilience hub can be used as an                           

emergency shelter during large climate disasters, as a cooling center during extreme heat                         

events, and a community resource center for programming and workshops during                     

non-crisis periods.  

 

Figure 13: Resilience pyramid by Summer Sandoval 2019 

18 “Resilience for Infrastructure and Communities,” Without Limits, accessed May 13, 2019, https://www.aecom.com/without-limits/article/resilience-infrastructure-communities/. 

 21 

  

What are the risks?  

Austin, Texas has a relatively safe geographic location. It is not on the coast, which serves                               

for additional protection from storm surges, sea level rise, and hurricanes. It is also just far                               

enough from tornado alley. But this does not mean that Austin is not affected by hazards                               

and climate-related disasters. Austin is vulnerable to flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, and                     

aridification just to name a few climate disasters and stressors. With this in mind, it is                               

important to consider the vulnerability of neighboring cities because accommodating                   

evacuees and climate refugees is also be a function of a resilience hub.  

One of the most important aspects of developing a resilience hub is identifying the types                             

and scale of disasters that are expected to occur. This can significantly differ among                           

regional climates and geographic characteristics; plans can even vary by city depending on                         

both natural and artificial attributes that may impact vulnerability and risk of climate                         

events. For example , wildfires are more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., but                             19

human influence over forest management may have increased the risk of wildfires in this                           

region. Florida has over a thousand miles of coastline, which make it extremely vulnerable                           

to damage from hurricanes and tropical storms, so investment in non-climate resilient                       

infrastructure may result in putting even more people at risk of displacement from these                           

extreme climate events.  

According to the City Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management,                     

Austin’s highest risk to hazard is flooding. Austin and Central Texas is also referred to as                               

flash flood alley ; the area is the most prone to flooding in the U.S. Austin is constantly                                 20

battling with water. Extreme heat and demand in the summer causes drinking water                         

shortages and heavy downpours in spring and fall cause flooding issues. Onion Creek                         

located in the southeast side of Austin has a history of terrible flooding. The creek has                               

caused costly damage during its 1981, 2013, and 2015 floods. The Austin Department of                           

Watershed Protection estimates that it will cost up to $4 billion dollars to complete all the                               

19 “Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2017,” National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), July 25, 2018, http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-201712. 20 “Living in Flash Flood Alley,” Hill Country Conservancy (blog), November 9, 2018, https://hillcountryconservancy.org/living-in-flash-flood-alley/. 

 22 

  

necessary buyouts and measures to protect against flood damage because there are 2,200                         

structures . As of today, the City has com  

Chapter 4: Benefits of Solar + Storage 

During non-crisis times, resilience hub’s solar and battery storage systems offer the                       

building on-site electricity savings. According to the U.S. Green Building Council , solar                       21

energy offers a wide variety of cost benefits and transcends on-site savings with positive                           

economic, social, and environmental externalities. The solar photovoltaic system reduces                   

energy costs in Austin, Texas in three ways: first by reducing overall energy consumption                           

from the electrical grid by generating power on-site, second by generating income through                         

Austin Energy’s Value of Solar program that pays customers per kilowatt hour of solar                           22

power generated, and third by Austin Energy’s Performance-Based solar incentive that is                       23

also based on kilowatt hour of solar power produced on-site. Electrical savings are the                           

direct benefits from on-site solar. Solar energy also offers diverse co-benefits to the                         

building site and surround community.  

Battery storage is an integral aspect of resilient power. Battery storage technology supports                         

renewable energy integration in citywide energy profiles by allowing renewables to provide                       

baseload energy. One of the major shortfalls of renewable energy sources is their                         

intermittent nature. Solar panels can only generate power when the sun there is sun, just                             

as wind turbines can only generate energy when the wind is blowing, but people use                             

energy throughout the day at varying levels of demand. On their own, renewables cannot                           

meet the constant power demand.  

Battery storage can also provide cost savings by reducing peak demand. Many utilities base                           

electrical bills for customers off of both consumption and demand. Consumption is the                         

total amount of energy used by a building or unit in a monthly billing period. Consumption                               

is measured in kilowatt hours and is based on actual usage. The second part of an electrical                                 

21 “Top Four Benefits of Installing Solar Panels on Your Home | U.S. Green Building Council,” accessed April 1, 2019, https://www.usgbc.org/articles/top-four-benefits-installing-solar-panels-your-home. 22 “Value of Solar (VoS) Rate,” April 14, 2015, https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/value-of-solar-rate. 23 “Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Incentives,” January 12, 2017, https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/for-your-business/solar-photovoltaic-pv-incentives. 

 23 

  

bill are demand charges. These are charges based on the single highest demand of power                             

sustained for a fifteen minute period. Demand is how much energy a building or unit is                               

using at any point in time and is measured in kilowatts.  

Battery storage can provide cost savings through peak shaving because battery technology                       

is controlled and can be deployed when needed during emergency as well as times of high                               

demand. Figure 14 illustrates how battery storage can reduce the high peak demand from                           

a building and reduce demand charges.  

 

Figure 14: How battery storage can manage electricity demand over a 24-hour period 

Investing in resilience means that the money spent on protecting existing assets will save                           

more money in damages in the future. According to Federal Emergency Management                       

Agency (FEMA), U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and U.S. Department of                     

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and found mitigation funding can save the nation                         

$6 in future disaster costs, for every $1 spent on hazard mitigation . This figure takes into                               24

account the cost and time of recovery and future inflation. It is more cost effective to                               

protect people and infrastructure today than it is to wait for the next climate hazard, and                               

pay for the damages.  

24 “National Institute of Building Sciences Issues New Report on the Value of Mitigation - National Institute of Building Sciences,” accessed May 12, 2019, https://www.nibs.org/news/381874/National-Institute-of-Building-Sciences-Issues-New-Report-on-the-Value-of-Mitigation.htm. 

 24 

  

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the average cost savings from                       

avoided outages is $100 per kilowatt hour . Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and                       25

Nexant, Inc. developed the Interruption Cost Estimate calculator with funding from the U.S.                         

Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. This online                       

calculator is an electric reliability planning tool that allows the user to see the cost of                               

outages by region and utility service provider.  

Solar and battery storage have co-benefits beyond on-site energy savings. Burning fossil                       

fuels for energy creates harmful air pollutants that include greenhouse gases that                       

contribute to climate change effects. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection                     

Agency (EPA), the social cost of carbon is $42 per ton . But a 2015 Stanford University                               26

study suggests the true social cost of carbon is actually $220 per ton . This is an important                                 27

co-benefit from solar and battery storage systems because environmental justice                   

communities usually endure more negative impacts from concentrated air pollution.                   

Environmental justice communities also have lower quality or less ecological benefits from                       

natural systems and processes such as greenspaces.  

Chapter 5: Case Studies-Building Typologies 

Florida SunSmart Emergency-Shelters  

Resilience hubs are a relatively new concept, but implementation has sprouted around the                         

world. One notable resilience hub case study is the Florida SunSmart Emergency-Shelter                       

program. In 2012, the program was created in response to Florida’s long history of damage                             

caused by hurricanes along the Atlantic coast. According to the National Oceanic and                         

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , forty percent of all major hurricanes hit Florida. With                       28

25 “Enhanced Resilience Features Help REopt Lite Users Size Solar+Storage Systems to Support Critical Building Loads | News | NREL,” accessed May 12, 2019, https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2018/enhanced_reopt_lite_resilience_features_support_critical_building_loads.html. 26 “Social_cost_of_carbon_fact_sheet.Pdf,” accessed May 6, 2019, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-12/documents/social_cost_of_carbon_fact_sheet.pdf. 27 “Moore and Diaz - 2015 - Temperature Impacts on Economic Growth Warrant Str.Pdf,” accessed May 6, 2019, https://www.eenews.net/assets/2015/01/13/document_cw_01.pdf. 28 “TCFAQ E19) How Many Direct Hits by Hurricanes of Various Categories,” accessed May 12, 2019, https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E19.html. 

 25 

  

1,350 miles of coastline, Florida is highly vulnerable to the destruction of extreme weather                           

events such as hurricanes and other tropical storms that impact the  

 

Figure 15: Hurricanes that impact U.S. States from 1851-2017 

The Florida Sunsmart program was implemented by the partnership of the University of                         

Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center in collaboration with Florida’s Office of Energy.                         

The program worked with the local utility to retrofit a total of one hundred and fifteen                               

public schools with small 10 kilowatt solar array and 40 kilowatt batteries that can provide                             

resilient power that includes lights and electrical outlets as the critical loads.  

The program was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which                       

designated funding to invest in infrastructure, education, and renewable energy. The solar                       

arrays for the schools were installed on the ground to provide an outdoor classroom space                             

for students to learn about renewable energy. “Educating Floridians and utilizing energy                       

efficient technologies will strengthen our economy by increasing Florida’s energy                   

independence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” said Govern Charlie Crist.  

 26 

  

To date, 350 teachers are trained through renewable energy workshops and over 50,000                         

students have been introduced to solar PV through STEM (science, technology, engineering,                       

and math) curriculum that was also developed by the SunSmart program.  

The schools are designed to be Enhanced Hurricane Protection Areas , which are open to                           29

the public during times of disaster and can accommodate 100-500 people varying by                         

school size. The state was able to negotiate a volume discount by using a single installer for                                 

all the schools. The schools did not have to pay any upfront costs for the systems and                                 

receive $1,500-$1,600 in electric savings annually .  30

 

Figure 16: Florida SunSmart E-Shelter case study overview by Summer Sandoval 2019 

Marcus Garvey Apartments  

In response to hurricane Sandy, New York City experienced shock that forced the issue of                             

climate resiliency to become a priority in city planning and projects across city agencies,                           

community advocacy organizations, and concerned private property owners. The Marcus                   

Garvey Apartments pilot program is an important case study because it is the first                           

29 “2018-Sesp-Appendix-B_fbc-Text_final_1-29-18.Pdf,” accessed May 12, 2019, https://www.floridadisaster.org/globalassets/dem/response/sesp/2018/appendices/2018-sesp-appendix-b_fbc-text_final_1-29-18.pdf. 30 “SunSmart Emergency Shelters Program,” Clean Energy Group (blog), accessed April 1, 2019, https://www.cleanegroup.org/ceg-projects/resilient-power-project/featured-installations/sunsmart-emergency-shelters-program/. 

 27 

  

affordable residential microgrid in New York City. Marcus Garvey apartments is a thirty-two                         

building affordable housing complex located in Brownsville, Brooklyn.  

This project was the first microgrid project deployed through Con Edison’s                     

Brooklyn-Queens Neighborhood program, which aims to reduce peak demand in specific                     

New York City neighborhoods. Con Edison’s Brownsville substation serves the                   

Brooklyn-Queens area, but is overtaxed especially in the summer months when peak                       

demand is very high. Urban densification development is putting excess stress on the                         

electrical grid. In order to address the new demand needs in the area, Con Edison would                               

need to built another substation costing $1.2 billion dollars .  31

A new substation that relies on fossil fuels is a traditional solution to ongoing issue. Fossil                               

fuels are not reliable for resilient power. Back-up fuel oil generators often do not have                             

enough supply oil on-site and generators are at higher risk of explosions and fires than                             

renewable technology. The solar and battery storage upgrade cost a total of $1.3 million                           

dollars. Twenty-two of the buildings in the complexes were upgraded with solar panels                         

totaling 400 kilowatts of solar energy, 300 kilowatt/1,200 kilowatt hours battery, and a 400                           

kilowatt fuel cell system.  

The project was financed with about $300,000 from solar incentives and a $1 million dollar                             

loan from a non-profit organization, New York Energy Efficiency Cooperation. The loan is a                           

10-year loan and is repaid with the monthly energy savings from the solar and battery                             

storage system.  

31 “Marcus Garvey Apartments,” Clean Energy Group (blog), accessed April 1, 2019, https://www.cleanegroup.org/ceg-projects/resilient-power-project/featured-installations/marcus-garvey-apartments/. 

 28 

  

 

Figure 17: Marcus Garvey Apartments case study overview by Summer Sandoval 2019 

Chapter 7: Planning Recommendations 

Strategic Planning Framework  

1. Resilience network  

The overall goal of developing resilience hubs is to protect people. Resilience hubs are a                             

key strategy in climate planning that emphasizes equitable investment in infrastructure.                     

The result of a successful resilience hub program will protect all environmental justice                         

census tracts with a designated resilience hub. Priority areas for resilience hub                       

development will be focused on serving all people living below the federal poverty line. A                             

resilience hub network will utilize a diverse portfolio of building typologies throughout the                         

city. Community engagement and education is essential in siting resilience hubs because                       

each community utilizes different community assets in their neighborhoods. For example, it                       

would not be effective to retrofit a library as a resilience hub if not many people in the                                   

community use or see it as a resource, and if the library is located in an isolated part of a                                       

community. 

It is important to analyze the distance that different building typologies serve. Elementary                         

schools may have a smaller reach in the community only serving within a one mile radius                               

compared to a high school that is larger and serves multiple census tracts. All of these                               

 29 

  

aspects are important parts in creating a resilience hub network that serves environmental                         

justice and vulnerable communities.  

 

Figure 18: Recommended Austin resilience hub network vision by Summer Sandoval 2019 

2. Emergency Response Plan 

An important aspect of emergency preparedness is communication. My next                   

recommendation is to create accessible, customized, and on-line emergency response                   

plans. People need to know what to do for different climate hazards and in different                             

situations. Resilience hubs will not be effective if no one knows how to utilize them during                               

times of emergency and disaster. An easy online application that people can access on their                             

phones, computers, and offline is necessary to communicate emergency best practices and                       

protocol.  

Another part of the recommendation includes resilience zoning, which let people know                       

where the closest resilience hub is and which hubs serve the area they live in. Resilience                               

zoning can also communicate resilience hub function to the community. In cases of                         

extreme heat, not every household owns or can afford air conditioning units. Heat waves                           

 30 

  

are especially dangerous for young children, pregnant women, elderly people, and other                       

people who are impacted with health concerns.  

During times of extreme heat, people can receive a notification that tells them which                           

resilience hubs are functioning as cooling centers. Solar, battery storage, and building                       

critical loads can be altered by season to reflect community needs. In the summer, when                             

heat waves are the most prevalent climate hazard critical loads can be increased to include                             

air conditioning during the hottest times of the day for at-risk populations to stay cool.  

An effective emergency response protocol will clearly address the following: 

1. What people should do during a specific climate hazard 

2. Where people should go during a specific climate hazard 

3. How people should act during a specific climate hazard 

4. When people should evacuate or return to their homes 

5. Who are most at-risk for a specific climate hazard 

This information must be available in various online and offline forms and mediums as well                             

as regularly updated with the newest information. Climate hazard information also must be                         

available in many languages in order to ensure environmental justice communities are                       

aware of emergency response best practices.  

Chapter 8: Funding Recommendations 

Innovative Financing Mechanisms 

Today, many climate resilient and sustainable infrastructure projects are funded through                     

short-term grants and recovery funding. This is an issue because cities cannot wait for                           

disasters to build better infrastructure and it is more cost efficient to invest in resilient                             

infrastructure before the next climate disaster. The vision and goal for developing                       

innovative financing mechanisms for resilience hubs is to create a long-term, sustainable,                       

and self-sustaining resilience fund to cover all capital costs of resilience hub project costs. A                             

resilience fund would ensure that resilience hubs are developed in a timely manner to to                             

protect vulnerable communities.  

 31 

  

1. Clean Business Standard 

One way to create a large pool of sustainability investors is to engage with the private                               

industry to develop resiliency design and implementation. The first financing                   

recommendation is write resiliency into the building code by creating a Clean Business                         

Standard. A Clean Business Standard outlines specific sustainability requirements that all                     

new and existing businesses must comply with. These standards can also be flexible and                           

adaptable to a city’s specific needs. For example, businesses in southwestern U.S. states                         

may be required to develop more water efficiency and greywater recycling strategies. In                         

many cities that struggle with combined sewer overflows from stormwater runoff may                       

create stricter criteria for businesses to comply with on-site stormwater management                     

standards. A citywide Clean Business Standard can be adapted by existing green building                         

rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) , which is                         32

the most widely used voluntary rating system in the world.  

The Clean Business Standard can dictate roofing type for all new roof replacements to                           

require a certain percentage of a new roof be a sustainable option such as a type of                                 

greeroof or renewable energy development. For example, all new roof replacements must                       

dedicate at least 50% of available rooftop area to a sustainable rooftop option.  

Not all businesses have suitable rooftops for greenroofs or solar PV arrays, so it is                             

important to offer various options to comply with a Clean Business Standard. If businesses                           

do not have suitable roofs for sustainable rooftop options then they can create these                           

sustainable initiatives off-site through a resilience fund. A business with an unsuitable                       

rooftop can still undergo an appraisal on the what it would cost to cover 50% of the rooftop                                   

with either a standard mid-cost greenroof or commercial solar panels, and pay that amount                           

into the resilience fund. The resilience fund would then become a long-term fund that can be                               

utilized for City-led resiliency projects such as resilience hubs. The business would also pay                           

small annual maintenance fees into the fund as they would usually dedicate for their own                             

maintenance. The resilience hub project would be credited to the businesses that funded                         

them as compliance with the clean business standard.  

32 “LEED v4.1 O+M Beta Guide | U.S. Green Building Council,” accessed May 13, 2019, http://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-v41-om-beta-guide. 

 32 

  

Required: 

All existing and new businesses would have to comply with specific green building                         

requirements outlined in a citywide Clean Business Standard. The standard would require                       

on-site building resiliency measures and adaptations that addressed holistic climate                   

resiliency. If certain buildings cannot fully comply with the Clean Business Standard with                         

on-site measures due to economic efficiency, then the business can choose the alternative                         

to pay a resilience fee into the a citywide resilience fund. The resilience fund is used to                                 

develop resilience hubs and other resilient building interventions on public buildings. This                       

requirement would ensure that both public and private buildings receive investment for                       

resilient infrastructure. 

Incentivized: 

If businesses go beyond the Clean Business Standard and develop more on-site resiliency                         

measures then business developers can receive a resilient building bonus, which is similar to                           

density bonus from inclusionary housing incentives . This incentive will encourage                   33

businesses and developers to invest more on-site resilient building measures that will                       

support overall city resiliency and reduce cost of damages from climate hazards. The                         

resilient building bonus will allow businesses and developers to build beyond existing                       

zoning or regulations. Resilient building bonuses can also be allocated to developers that                         

create resilience hubs on private property. Businesses can choose to create resilience hub                         

functionality on the ground floor or specific section of their business to receive the resilient                             

building bonus.  

2. ”Sustainability Investors”   

The concept of sustainability investors is similar to any other kind of investor. This                           

recommendation ensures that businesses are both required to invest in citywide resiliency                       

to a certain capacity as well as incentivize the private sector to invest in resilience projects                               

not only because they offer valuable co-benefits but because they are economically viable                         

on their own.  

33 “Incentives,” Inclusionary Housing (blog), accessed May 13, 2019, http://inclusionaryhousing.org/designing-a-policy/land-dedication-incentives/. 

 33 

  

Required: 

All businesses are required to comply to the Clean Business Standard, and if they cannot                             

comply with on-site building measures, then they are required to pay a resilience fee into                             

the resilience fund. Not all buildings or sites can have the capacity to develop required                             

resilience building code. If a resilience measure does not meet economic criteria i.e. there is                             

too much shade and not enough solar irradiance for solar panels, then the business will                             

pay the project equivalence of developing on-site solar power to the resilience fund. The                           

fund will cover capital costs of resilient infrastructure throughout the city. 

Incentivized: 

Many businesses do not know the economics of investing in resilient infrastructure.                       

Resilient infrastructure is accompanied by a plethora of co-benefits that are enjoyed not                         

only by the building site, but the surrounding community too. Many solar and battery                           

storage projects have quick paybacks and positive return on investments, but there is a lack                             

of communication and collaboration between the public and private sector. Creating a city                         

resilience bond program can be a way for the city government to partner with local                             34

businesses.  

If businesses can invest in resilience bonds to fund resilient infrastructure projects, then                         

they can earn a return on their investments and the city will have the upfront capital                               

funding to fund resilience hubs. There may be a education curve to get businesses to invest                               

in these bonds, so cities can incentivize the first business investors with permit waivers and                             

Clean Business Standard credits to encourage businesses to participate.  

3. Property Tax Advance Model 

Like many cities, Austin, Texas has relatively high property taxes. Texas, has the sixth                           

highest property taxes in the U.S. in 2019 . High and rising property taxes and cost of                               35

34 Shalini Vaijhala and James Rhodes, “Resilience Bonds: A Business-Model for Resilient Infrastructure,” Field Actions Science Reports. The Journal of Field Actions, no. Special Issue 18 (December 15, 2018): 58–63. 35 John S. Kiernan, “2019’s Property Taxes by State,” WalletHub, accessed April 15, 2019, https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585/. 

 34 

  

homes is a major concern for many native Austinites. Another innovative financing                       

mechanism for resilience hubs is a property tax advance model for business owners.  

Required: 

The required aspect of the Property Tax Advance Model would simply require the status                           

quo of businesses to pay their property taxes on time without any type of discount.  

Incentivized:  

For small discounts on property taxes, businesses can have the option of paying their                           

property taxes in advance in different increments such as 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and                         

20-year bundle payments. The larger the upfront payment the higher the discount. For                         

example, if a business had a surplus in revenue for the last few years and wanted to invest                                   

in their business, they could pay their property taxes for the next 3 years and receive a                                 

6-8% discount on the amount paid. This scenario creates a win-win situation for the                           

businesses and the City. This model allows the businesses to plan long-term and utilize                           

current surplus for future savings and it frees us money that the City would have received                               

anyway for more capital projects such as resilience hubs. A pre-agreed upon percentage of                           

the advance tax payment can then be used to develop resilience hub retrofits because the                             

effects of climate change are time-sensitive and investing in resilience today will save lives                           

and money in the future.  

Advance Payment

Discount

1-2 years 2-5%

3-4 years 6-8%

Figure 19: Example of Property Tax Advance Model payments and discounts 

 

 

 

 35 

  

Chapter 9: Next Steps 

Resilience Hub Elementary School Pilot Program: Cost-Benefit Analysis 

Austin Independent School District elementary school pilot program is a proposed network                       

of resilience hubs retrofitting 22 public elementary schools in Austin, Texas . This                       36

cost-benefit pilot program is modeled after the Florida SunSmart Emergency Shelter                     

program. Forty percent of all hurricanes impact the state of Florida every year. As a                             

response of climate change and the regular damages from hurricanes, Florida Office of                         

Energy and University of Central Florida partnered to implement a resilience hub program                         

to retrofit 115 public schools with 10 kilowatts of solar power and 40 kilowatt hours of                               

battery storage. These schools also had Enhanced Hurricane Protection Areas (EHPAs),                     

which offered emergency shelter space to the public and had the capacity to provide up to                               

8 hours of resilient power from the solar and storage system during times when the                             

electrical grid was down.  

 

Methodology: 

Identify “Priority Areas”: The first step in siting a resilience hub is to determine the                             

community it will serve. Median household income and race are main characteristics that                         

define environmental justice communities. In order to address equity issues and climate                       

change, a resilience hub pilot program will be analyzed for potential costs and benefits on                             

the east side of Interstate-35 in Austin, Texas. I-35 acts as a physical boundary that cuts                               

through Austin and divides many affluent neighborhoods on the west side from the                         

low-income communities on the east side. The communities on the east side also have a                             

high percentage of minorities. The percentage of “Economically Disadvantaged” students in                     

each school was also evaluated. “Economically Disadvantaged” is defined if a student                       

qualifies for the National School Lunch Program for free lunch, which requires a family’s                           

income to be within 185% of Federal Poverty levels . 37

36 “Trustee Boundaries,” accessed May 13, 2019, https://www.austinisd.org/modules/custom/schools/maps/trustees.html. 37 “Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines,” Federal Register, May 8, 2018, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/08/2018-09679/child-nutrition-programs-income-eligibility-guidelines. 

 36 

  

Figure 20: 2019 U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines 

Examine a building typology: Resilience hub retrofits are recommended for existing                     

buildings because hubs should have an important community function during                   

non-emergency times such as education, public engagement, critical service, or housing.                     

This is an essential aspect of a resilience hub, so there can be community recognition of the                                 

building as a community resource center. Buildings with large flat roofs, available land, and                           

scalable typologies are good candidates for resilience hubs. For this analysis, I am                         

examining the cost-benefit of a resilience hub program on 22 public elementary schools                         38

in Austin’s environmental justice communities on the east side.  

 

38 “About Our Schools,” Austin ISD, accessed May 1, 2019, https://www.austinisd.org/schools. 

 37 

  

Figure 21. Austin, Texas elementary schools located in environmental justice neighborhoods and analyzed for 

the resilience hub pilot program 

Figure 22: Austin Elementary Schools for Resilience Hub Pilot Program & Austin Median Household Income 2018 

 38 

  

Create technology recommendations: Solar and battery storage capacity depends on the                     

available on-site space as well as the building’s energy profile . For the 22 elementary                           39

schools, the solar systems that are appropriate for the site and function ranges from                           

100-200 kilowatts and the battery storage is kept at of constant of 50 kilowatts/300 kilowatt                             

hours system size to provide up to 24 hours of resilient power to the building. The critical                                 

for each building is based on 20% of average energy demand. Since the battery capacity                             

was kept constant for this analysis, the inverter size can vary based on building specific                             

needs and energy loads to tailor the resilient energy system.  

Evaluate costs and benefits: Technology costs for solar panels and battery storage were                         

analyzed for each elementary school. Costs included materials cost for both solar panel                         

and battery storage, as well as a 30% project cost for installation and labor. Commercial                             

solar panels cost approximately $2,000 per kilowatt. Battery storage costs $1,000 per                       

kilowatt and $500 per kilowatt hour. Benefits for solar and battery storage are                         

multi-faceted and diverse. On-site benefits include Austin Energy’s “value of solar” credit of                         

$0.067 per kWh of solar power generated, a performance-based incentive of $0.060 per                         40

kWh generated for a medium-sized commercial building, and annual electricity savings                     41

from utilizing the generated on-site solar power in the building.  

 

39 “Energy Management,” Austin ISD, accessed May 13, 2019, https://www.austinisd.org/facilities-maintenance/energy-management. 40 “Snapshot,” accessed May 8, 2019, https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/value-of-solar-rate. 41 “Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Incentives.” 

 39 

  

 

Figure 23: Solar and battery storage costs for resilience hub elementary schools. 

 

Figure 24: Austin Energy Performance-Based Incentive for on-site solar power generation. 

 40 

  

Battery storage for resilient power is growing immensely in the U.S. Battery storage is not a                               

renewable energy source, but is an effective complement to renewable energy technologies                       

such as solar photovoltaic. Battery storage allows solar power to provide baseload energy                         

because renewables are intermittent in power generation and does not always correlate                       

with user demand. Direct benefits of battery storage include monthly demand cost savings                         

and cost savings from avoided outages which is valued at $100 per kilowatt hour.  

The cost of outages were calculated based on the critical loads of schools multiplied by                             

24-hours of anticipated annual outages due to extreme climate events that will impact the                           

grid. On-site battery storage can continuously provide resilient off-grid power to the                       

building for up to 24-hour periods. Potentially, battery storage will provide more economic                         

value than from just one outage event. After evaluating the direct cost savings from both                             

on-site solar and battery storage, project economics prove positive and outweigh upfront                       

capital costs even before analyzing the value of positive externalities or co-benefits.  

 

 

Figure 25: Elementary school resilience hub pilot project overview 

 

5. Analyze indirect co-benefits: Solar power and battery storage also offer co-benefits or                         

positive externalities to the building site as well as the surrounding community. Resilience                         

hubs reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power sources, which have                       

positive environmental and health impacts. Reduced greenhouse gases such as carbon                     

dioxide, methane, particulate matter 2.5, and secondary air pollutants such as ozone and                         

nitrogen oxides that can all cause or exacerbate respiratory illnesses. According to a 2015                           

 41 

  

Stanford study , the true social cost of carbon (equivalence) emissions is $220 per ton                           42

instead of the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimate of $42 per ton . The proposed                         43

solar arrays would curb 4,000 tons of annual carbon emissions, which is worth an                           

additional $880,000 in annual co-benefits. 

A large-scale resilience hub network in any city would also create a new market demand for                               

solar and battery storage installers, engineers, and maintenance jobs. Job opportunities will                       

result in long-term economic benefits by attracting people to the city. Investing in climate                           

planning such as resilience hubs can attract people in two ways: the first reason is the                               

safety and adaptability of the city to the effects of climate change, and the second reason is                                 

the economic opportunities that are a result of a successful resilience hub network.  

Next Steps 

The recommended next steps to implement the elementary school pilot program: 

Create an official public partnership with all necessary city agencies that may include Austin                           

Independent School District (AISD), Department of Parks and Recreation, Austin Energy,                     

Office of Sustainability, and local community advocacy organizations and residents.  

Evaluate climate patterns and future projects to estimate resilient power duration needs                       

during a widespread electrical grid outage. Identify micro-climate hazards and risks for                       

neighborhoods, to know what type of disaster to plan for.  

Conduct an elementary school building assessment to verify technology system size                     

recommendations. Determine the status of roofs and building quality to accommodate                     

solar and battery storage retrofit changes.  

Identify financing mechanisms and opportunities among all partners including grants,                   

bonds, capital and operating budgets, and loans. Evaluate upfront cost needs and                       

long-term savings cash flow.  

 

Chapter 10: Conclusion 

42 “Moore and Diaz - 2015 - Temperature Impacts on Economic Growth Warrant Str.Pdf.” 43 “Social_cost_of_carbon_fact_sheet.Pdf.” 

 42 

  

There is no “silver bullet” for climate change or resiliency. One thing that is without a doubt                                 

is that a single entity or stakeholder cannot solve all the climate planning problems in a                               

city. It is also not the sole responsibility of government, businesses, or individuals to work                             

on citywide climate resilience. It is essential that local governments take a lead on resiliency                             

measures and engage the private business sector and environmental justice communities.  

Climate change impacts are anthropogenic, and were caused and now exacerbated by                       

systemic issues of poor planning, short-sighted ventures, and the lack of understanding of                         

holistic systems. As humans, we all play a role in creating negative impacts on planet Earth,                               

now it is our turn to stand up and stand together to protect one another and lay the                                   

foundation for a more successful future. The vision for our planet is an understanding,                           

consideration, and respect of the relationship among all environmental, social, and                     

economic systems. Resilience hubs are just the tip of the iceberg, but they are the                             

foundation of a climate resilient city.    

 43 

  

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“SunSmart Emergency Shelters Program.” Clean Energy Group (blog). Accessed April 1, 2019. 

https://www.cleanegroup.org/ceg-projects/resilient-power-project/featured-installati

ons/sunsmart-emergency-shelters-program/. 

“TCFAQ E19) How Many Direct Hits by Hurricanes of Various Categories.” Accessed May 12, 

2019. https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E19.html. 

“Top Four Benefits of Installing Solar Panels on Your Home | U.S. Green Building Council.” 

Accessed April 1, 2019. 

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/top-four-benefits-installing-solar-panels-your-home. 

“Top Ten Demographic Trends in Austin, Texas | Planning and Zoning | AustinTexas.Gov - 

The Official Website of the City of Austin.” Accessed April 1, 2019. 

http://www.austintexas.gov/page/top-ten-demographic-trends-austin-texas. 

“Trustee Boundaries.” Accessed May 13, 2019. 

https://www.austinisd.org/modules/custom/schools/maps/trustees.html. 

Vaijhala, Shalini, and James Rhodes. “Resilience Bonds: A Business-Model for Resilient 

Infrastructure.” Field Actions Science Reports. The Journal of Field Actions, no. Special 

Issue 18 (December 15, 2018): 58–63. 

 46 

  

“Value of Solar (VoS) Rate,” April 14, 2015. 

https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/value-of-solar-rate.   

 47 

  

Appendix: 

 

 

Elementary school pilot program proposed technology costs. 

Please click here to find all Austin Elementary School Pilot Project cost-benefit calculations. 

 

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