Joan Mills and William Reeves Ferran: Allegheny County power outages make case for solar and storage in public housing

When the Blawnox Apartments, home to over 80 senior citizens, abruptly went dark early last week amidst the torrential rain and fierce winds pummeling Allegheny County, building maintenance wasted no time in attempting to fire up the old diesel generator. When it finally sputtered to life — hours after the building initially lost power — the lights flickered back on, but the acrid smell of exhaust started filling the lobby and filtering into homes. In an earnest attempt to reduce pollution exposure, building administrators set up fans to try and redirect polluted air outside during the intermittent periods when the generation was functioning — with little success.

Breathing diesel exhaust fumes is dangerous for everyone — but particularly so for senior citizens with preexisting conditions. The particle pollution from diesel can travel into the bloodstream, exacerbating cardiovascular and respiratory problems. For Blawnox residents, who already face challenges from poor air quality due to proximity to rail lines transporting coal, this emergency solution only compounded existing health risks.

Now imagine a different scenario: This same building equipped with rooftop solar panels and modern battery storage. While the destructive winds toppled power lines throughout the county, the Blawnox residents would have remained safe in their homes with clean, reliable electricity — no dangerous emissions, no desperate measures, no health risks.

Allegheny County has already taken a crucial step forward. Last year, through a hard-fought budget vote championed by county executive Sara Innamorato, the county allocated $1 million to jumpstart critical upgrades to public housing, and Blawnox Apartments is a focus. This funding will address issues with heating, cooling and water systems that residents have struggled with for years.

These budgeted upgrades are an essential first step, but achieving true resilience requires additional investments in rooftop solar and battery storage — and here, we need the state of Pennsylvania to step up. We call upon state Sen. Lindsay Williams and state Rep. Mandy Steele, who represent Blawnox Apartments, to ensure that $1 million is in the 2026 state budget to support critical upgrades needed at Blawnox Apartments. Allocating funding through the state budget for solar and storage would promise triple benefits: healthier homes where the lights stay on when extreme weather strikes, good-paying union jobs for local workers and reduced climate impacts for our entire region.

Better yet, the Inflation Reduction Act will allow any budget allocation from the county to go even further. The law provides a 30% tax credit for solar installations and battery storage systems through 2032. Additional bonuses of 10% each are available for projects in low-income communities and energy communities, and meet prevailing wage and domestic content standards, potentially offsetting up to 70% of the total project cost.

Many tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act are at risk with the new administration, and we call upon Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick to commit to keeping these tax credits alive as they can ensure a continued pipeline of projects like the one at Blawnox to support Pennsylvanians most in need.

When the next storm hits — and we know it will — we have a choice about how prepared residents of Allegheny County public housing will be. We can allow residents to continue to rely on outdated fossil fuel backup infrastructure that endangers their health, or we can ensure residents have access to modern clean energy technologies that will keep the lights on, without the pollution exposure. The time to act is now, before the next power outage forces seniors to breathe diesel fumes in their own living rooms.

Joan Mills is president of the Blawnox Apartments Tenant Council. William Reeves Ferran is coalition project manager for the Allegheny County Decarbonization Coalition.