005: How to Finance MicroGrid and Green Building in Disaster with Will Heegaard
How to Disaster
English - October 17, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 49.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsHow To Education News community disaster fire leadership service advocacy flood hurricane political rebuilding Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
"It's really exciting to think about what could be done when the generator is not the problem." -Will Heegaard
Episode Description:
Rebuilding a community after a disaster is a lot like building a house. You have to make sure that the foundation is strong and secure, and you have to make sure that you're using the right materials for the job. The best way to do this is by rebuilding back with green energy in mind.
However, many people reason that this is not a practical step as green energy sources like solar generators can get expensive. But is it really?
Green energy is clean, renewable, and sustainable—and that means it's more resilient than traditional power sources like coal or nuclear plants. And because it's kinder for the environment, we're actually helping fight climate change, which reduces the intensity and frequency of disasters we experience. So in effect, rebuilding with green energy is more cost-effective in the long run.
However, having sufficient funds can be hard for a disaster-stricken community. So how can we finance this big project?
In this episode, Jennifer interviews Will Heegaard, the Operations Director of Footprint Project, a non-profit organization that brings sustainable power generation to disaster affected communities.
Listen in as Jennifer and Will talk about what microgrids are, how they can be a great tool for disaster response, and how to get the funds needed for these projects. They also discuss the gaps in the disaster response space, how we can break the negative loop of causing another disaster, how we can normalize green energy in the community, and Will's advice to find motivation in moving towards progress despite huge challenges.
Connect with After The Fire USA:
Website: https://afterthefireusa.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebuildNorthBay/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/erTheFireUSA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterthefireusa/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atf3r
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTefxZgWUJkDVoZGZQpxgQ
Highlights:
01:47 Building Back Greener with Footprint Project
10:04 Footprint Project's 3 Power Up Programs
17:33 Equity and Rebuilding Greener
27:22 Break the Negative Loop
35:41 Benefits of Cleaner Power Systems
44:57 Climate Resiliency Programs
51:59 Helping Normalize Green Energy
55:52 Something Better