Tiger Solar is proud to announce an exciting collaboration with Appalachian Voices to bring clean, resilient energy to rural communities in Southwest Virginia. This initiative focuses on building resilience hubs, spaces equipped with solar power and battery storage that can support residents during extreme weather events, outages, and other emergencies while also reducing local energy costs and emissions year-round.
What Made This Possible?
In early 2026, Appalachian Voices announced that grant funding from Google’s Sharing the Power Foundation will support solar and energy storage installations at community-serving facilities in the towns of Dungannon and Duffield. Construction of the projects is underway this year, with commissioning expected to be finalized in 2026.
What Are Resilience Hubs?
Resilience hubs are critical lifelines for communities facing increasingly frequent and intense storms, floods, and power disruptions. These hubs provide access to reliable electricity, emergency supplies, and a safe gathering space when residents need it most. Recent weather-related challenges in the region have highlighted how vital these resources are for Southwest Virginia’s small towns and rural neighborhoods.
Looking Ahead
Our role in this project will be to install the solar panels and battery system for the Dungannon project. These installations will help generate 30.5 kilowatts of solar power alongside 115 kilowatt-hours of battery storage, ensuring that the hub can provide energy during emergencies and lower energy costs throughout the year.
In Duffield, the Appalachian Harvest food hub will also receive a robust solar and storage system (about 75.6 kW of solar and 246 kWh of storage) installed by Solar Alliance of Knoxville. Appalachian Harvest plays a vital role in processing and distributing locally grown produce across the region, including food boxes to pantries and civic organizations. Adding on-site solar power will boost the hub’s resilience and support ongoing food access efforts.
This partnership brings together community-centric organizations and impact investors. In addition to Google’s funding, projects are supported by Invest Appalachia with financing coordination from the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, a regional program that helps deliver technical assistance and investment for solar infrastructure in underserved areas.
Project Importance
For Tiger Solar, contributing to projects that strengthen local infrastructure and enhance community well-being reflects our values of advancing accessible clean energy solutions for all. As weather threats intensify and grid reliability challenges persist, on-site solar paired with energy storage offers a practical and empowering way for communities to prepare and thrive.
To learn more about Appalachian Voices and this exciting new project,
follow the link below.