1. What is Resilient Palisades?

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Resilient Palisades is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by residents of Pacific Palisades in 2019. We are a community-led organization working to help Palisadians rebuild and recover in ways that are more sustainable, resilient, and connected.

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Our mission is to engage with Palisadians, local businesses, schools, and other organizations on projects that help our community develop a more sustainable way of living to fight climate change and ecological degradation.

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2. What was the Pali Microgrid initiative in a nutshell?

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Resilient Palisades’ Clean Energy Resilience Team launched the Pali Microgrid initiative before the Palisades fire as an ambitious community energy resilience project.

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The first phase helped more than 50 households install rooftop solar through a group purchasing program. This increased local solar electricity generation, reduced emissions, helped residents save money, and strengthened energy resilience in the Palisades.

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The original vision was to encourage residents, local businesses, schools, and other institutions to create their own islandable “nanogrids” by installing solar panels and battery storage, with the long-term goal of exploring how these systems could eventually support one or more community-wide microgrids.

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As our community rebuilds after the fire, Resilient Palisades is carrying this work forward through Power Up Palisades, a new initiative led by our Electrify the Rebuild team. Power Up Palisades builds on the same neighbor-powered model by helping residents access trusted solar and battery installers, community-informed guidance, and more affordable clean energy solutions.

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3. Why is a microgrid beneficial to the community?

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A microgrid can provide clean and reliable energy and can island itself from the main grid as needed, enabling participants to share stored power during an outage of the main grid. Microgrids enable communities to be more resilient, sustainable, and self-reliant.

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For Palisades residents rebuilding after the fire, the larger goal remains the same: cleaner energy, stronger homes, lower emissions, and greater resilience during outages and emergencies.

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Microgrids can also help improve the operation and reliability of the local utility grid by reducing demand and lowering the risk of brownouts and blackouts. Adding solar panels and home battery storage can also increase energy independence and may increase property value.

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4. Are any for-profit entities behind the Pali Microgrid initiative?

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No. Resilient Palisades is a nonprofit organization. The Pali Microgrid initiative was created as a community resilience project, not as a for-profit venture.

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Our Clean Energy Resilience Team included Palisades residents and former residents. Resilient Palisades did not have a financial relationship with any installer connected to the project.

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5. What support did you have for the Pali Microgrid?

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The Pali Microgrid initiative received positive feedback from community leaders, public officials, clean energy experts, and organizations working on community microgrids.

Most importantly, the project proved that Palisades neighbors could organize around clean energy at the community scale. More than 50 households installed rooftop solar through the original group purchasing effort, and that success now informs Power Up Palisades.

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6. Does Resilient Palisades plan to collaborate with other communities to establish additional community microgrids?

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Resilient Palisades hopes our work can continue to serve as a model for other communities looking to build local energy resilience.

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The original Pali Microgrid vision helped show what is possible when neighbors organize around clean energy, affordability, and resilience. Today, our focus is on helping Palisadians rebuild stronger through Power Up Palisades and Electrify the Rebuild.

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PARTICIPATION​

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7. I live in a shaded area and haven’t installed solar panels because I don’t expect them to generate significant energy. Could I still participate in the original Pali Microgrid vision?

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Yes. The original Pali Microgrid vision was designed around the idea that community energy resilience should not be limited only to homes with ideal solar conditions.

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In a future community microgrid model, it may be technically possible for solar generation and battery storage to be shared among participating homeowners, even when those resources are not located on every individual property. The final design of any future microgrid would depend on the needs of the community, available technology, utility requirements, and the rules that govern shared energy systems.

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For residents rebuilding now, Power Up Palisades can still be helpful even if your site has shade or other limitations. Trusted installers can help evaluate what is possible for your specific home.

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8. My roof is very old and I don’t think it would support solar panels. Could I still participate?

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Before the fire, even older roofs could sometimes support solar panels depending on their condition, structure, and remaining life.

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For many Palisadians rebuilding today, this question has changed. New roofs and new electrical systems create an important opportunity to plan for solar, battery storage, induction cooking, heat pump systems, EV charging, and other all electric upgrades from the beginning.

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If your home is being repaired rather than rebuilt, an installer or contractor can help determine whether your roof is suitable for solar or whether other clean energy options make more sense.

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9. Will residents of townhomes or multifamily buildings be able to participate?

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The original Pali Microgrid vision included the hope that people in many different housing situations could participate, including residents of townhomes and multifamily buildings.

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The level of involvement would depend on the building owner, HOA, property layout, roof access, electrical systems, and applicable utility rules.

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As the Palisades rebuilds, Resilient Palisades remains interested in helping clean energy solutions reach as many residents as possible, not only single family homeowners.

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10. Are there any disadvantages to a microgrid?

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Yes. Microgrids can be powerful tools for resilience, but they are complex.

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They require upfront investment, ongoing operations, maintenance, control systems, utility coordination, and clear rules for how energy is shared. Multi customer microgrids also depend on regulations and utility structures that are still evolving.

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That is one reason Resilient Palisades focused first on helping individual homes install solar and battery storage through group purchasing. Home solar and batteries can provide immediate benefits while the larger community microgrid vision continues to evolve.

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11. I already have solar or solar plus battery. What additional benefit would I get from being part of a microgrid?

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In the original Pali Microgrid vision, residents who already had solar or solar plus battery storage could potentially benefit from being part of a larger connected system.

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The idea was that shared energy resources could make the community more resilient during outages and emergencies. A connected system could potentially allow stored power to be used more efficiently across participating homes and reduce strain on the larger grid.

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Today, residents who already have solar or batteries may still benefit from making sure their systems are designed for outage protection, load management, and future compatibility where possible.

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12. Will homeowners who benefit from group pricing be required to join the microgrid?

 

No. The original group purchasing program did not require homeowners to commit to joining a future microgrid.

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The goal was to make solar and battery storage more accessible and affordable for Palisadians, while also helping build a stronger foundation for future community energy resilience.

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Power Up Palisades continues in that spirit by helping residents access vetted installers and community informed pricing without requiring participation in a future microgrid.

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TECHNICAL

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13. How does a microgrid work exactly?

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A microgrid is a local energy system that can include solar panels, battery storage, and controls that help manage electricity.

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In a power outage, some microgrids can “island,” or disconnect from the main utility grid, and continue operating on their own. This can allow participating homes or buildings to keep essential appliances and systems running, such as refrigeration, lights, internet, medical devices, or heating and cooling equipment.

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The original Pali Microgrid vision explored how individual home systems, sometimes called nanogrids, could eventually support a larger community scale microgrid.

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In the near term, home solar and battery storage can still provide meaningful resilience, especially when they are designed to keep key household circuits running during an outage.

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14. If I already have solar panels or home battery storage, would I be able to connect to the Pali Microgrid or would my equipment not be compatible?

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The original expectation was that many solar and battery systems could potentially be compatible with a future microgrid, although older systems might need upgrades or modifications.

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Compatibility would depend on the equipment, inverter, battery system, electrical panel, controls, ownership structure, and utility requirements. Leased solar systems may also have contract limits that affect what a homeowner can change or connect to.

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For residents rebuilding or upgrading now, it is worth asking installers whether your system is designed for backup power, future battery integration, smart load management, and possible future resilience programs.

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15. Will the microgrid be AC based or DC based?

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The original Pali Microgrid concept was planned as an AC microgrid.

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Any future community scale microgrid design would need to be evaluated based on current technology, LADWP requirements, safety standards, costs, and the needs of the participating homes or buildings.

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16. Who would monitor or operate the control systems? Would the Pali Microgrid have to hire an operator?

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A community microgrid would require professional monitoring, controls, and ongoing operations.

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Microgrid controllers often come with service contracts through companies that monitor the system, manage performance, and provide real time information to participants. A future community microgrid would likely require a qualified operator or service provider, and those services would come with ongoing costs.

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This is one of the reasons community microgrids require careful planning, utility coordination, and long term governance.

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17. How would homes connect together in phase 2? What would homes need in order to connect to the microgrid?

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The original phase 2 vision imagined connecting participating homes through a combination of existing utility infrastructure, home based equipment, controller hardware, and cloud based software.

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In practice, the requirements would depend on each home’s electrical panel, solar system, battery system, inverter, controls, and LADWP’s technical and safety requirements.

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Because the Palisades is now rebuilding, this is a moment to think ahead. Homes that are designed with modern electrical panels, solar readiness, battery readiness, smart load management, and backup circuits may be better positioned for future resilience options.

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FINANCIAL

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18. How is this project being financed?

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In the original Pali Microgrid program, homeowners and property owners individually paid for solar panels, battery storage, and related equipment. Financing options were available through selected installers.

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Power Up Palisades follows a similar community group purchasing model. The goal is to help residents access trusted installers, clearer information, and better pricing where possible.

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19. How do I decide if it makes financial sense to invest in solar plus batteries or future microgrid readiness?

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The financial case depends on your home, energy use, roof or site conditions, available incentives, utility rates, equipment costs, and whether you are rebuilding or retrofitting.

Installer proposals can help estimate payback based on your electricity use and system design. But the financial return is only one part of the decision.

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Solar and batteries can also provide resilience, backup power, lower emissions, and more energy independence. Those benefits are harder to measure, but they matter.

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20. What’s this I hear about California changing solar incentives?

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Solar incentive rules have changed significantly.

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The California Public Utilities Commission regulates investor owned utilities, but LADWP is a municipal utility with its own programs and rules. Because policies, incentives, and net metering structures can change.

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For homeowners rebuilding now, the important point is to evaluate solar and battery storage early in the design process so electrical systems, roof plans, backup circuits, and incentives can be considered before construction decisions are locked in.

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Visit Electrify the Rebuild for information on current incentives.

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