Staunton, VA, Feb. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) has been awarded a grant from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) to upgrade its emergency shelter capacity at Patrick Henry High School and William Fleming High School by building a solar-powered microgrid with a battery energy storage system. Generating power from the sun and storing it in batteries for future use, the microgrid will be the first of its kind to be located at a public school division in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The VDEM 2026 Shelter Upgrade Assistance Fund will provide $450,000 to be matched by a $2.1 million investment from Secure Solar Futures, the developer of the project. With total outside financing of $2.55 million, the project will be completed at no cost to the schools. Once it is completed, the microgrid will also not require any funds from RCPS to operate, as costs will be covered by energy savings and revenues gained by providing energy storage services to the Mid-Atlantic (PJM) grid.
“Preparedness is about planning ahead, and this grant reflects the commitment to safeguarding communities when they need it most,” said VDEM Director of Grant Management and Recovery Robbie Coates. “This will ensure that the city will have an alternate power source at their shelter, should they need to use it during an emergency.”
The purpose of the Shelter Upgrade Fund is to provide matching funds to localities to install, maintain, or repair infrastructure related to backup energy generation for emergency shelters, including solar energy generators, and to improve the hazard-specific structural integrity (wind retrofit) of shelter facilities owned by the locality. Both Patrick Henry and William Fleming are officially designed by VDEM as shelters open to the public in case of a storm or other emergency that causes power outages in the city.
“The Virginia Department of Energy applauds Roanoke City Public Schools and Secure Solar Futures for pioneering the state’s first solar-powered microgrid at a public school,” said Vince Maiden, Director of the Virginia Department of Energy’s State Energy Office. “By enhancing emergency shelter resilience and integrating renewable energy with battery storage, innovative solutions like these are critical to the clean energy transition. Virginia Energy was proud to provide a letter of support for this product through our Clean Energy Innovation Bank.”
The microgrid project will build on 10.1 megawatts of solar power capacity currently being installed at 32 RCPS locations by Secure Solar Futures, a project that includes restoring roofs of several buildings. Both solar power systems and roof repairs were provided at no upfront cost to the schools through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
“This investment strengthens our ability to keep students and families safe, even during emergency situations,” said Dr. Verletta White, Superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. “By adding battery storage to our existing solar infrastructure, we are increasing the resilience of our schools and ensuring Patrick Henry and William Fleming can continue serving as emergency shelters during power outages. Projects like this reflect our commitment to staying student-focused while also making smart, sustainable decisions that support our community for the long term.”
When construction is completed by the end of 2026, solar power will cover 46.1% of the locations’ annual power usage and is expected to save the schools $60.2 million in avoided costs for both electric power and roof repairs and replacements over 35 years. Each of the two high schools serving as emergency shelters will host 1 megawatt of solar power generating capacity along with 4 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage, for a total of 8 megawatt-hours of storage at RCPS.
“The solar microgrid at Roanoke Schools represents two historic milestones in Virginia, both the largest solar power system and the first solar-powered microgrid at any K-12 public school,” said Anthony Smith, CEO of Secure Solar Futures. “With costs falling for battery storage, we expect more schools, hospitals, and businesses to follow the example of RCPS to achieve resilience and cut their electric bills.”
Over the last ten years, costs for battery energy storage systems fell by an average of 20% per year at the same time as installations rose by 80% annually, according to Battery Storage News, with sharp cost declines expected to continue in future years. As the United States and Virginia in particular face an energy shortage due to the growth of AI data centers, solar is the fastest way to add new power to the grid, and batteries allow that power to always remain on.
City National Bank and the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank have committed financing to the solar-plus-battery storage microgrid projects.
Separately from, and in addition to funding provided for the microgrid, the solar power systems at RCPS received two separate incentive grants from The Coalfield Solar Fund, funded by global financial technology platform Intuit. The CSF was established to support solar power at K-12 schools and community colleges located in communities in Virginia and West Virginia historically associated with the coal industry.
About Roanoke City Schools
Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) is an urban school division in Roanoke, Virginia, serving a pre-K through 12th grade population of approximately 14,000 students. RCPS provides an inclusive and equitable, student-centered culture that empowers lifelong learning. Through meaningful, relevant, and engaging learning opportunities, we will empower all students to dream, excel, and meet their full potential to benefit our city and its citizens. The division has 17 elementary schools, five middle schools, two high schools, and five program locations, including the Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science & Technology and two Career & Technical Education centers. Visit www.rcps.info for additional information.
About Secure Solar Futures
As a market and policy leader, Secure Solar Futures builds, owns, manages, and funds affordable Resilient Solar Solutions® for schools, hospitals, and businesses. The company combines state-of–the-art solar technology with an innovative business model to make commercial-scale solar readily affordable in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, helping customers to realize the economic, environmental, and community benefits of solar energy. In 2017, Secure Solar Futures became a Certified B Corporation®. Find the company online at www.securesolarfutures.com.
Roanoke City Public Schools Media Contact: Claire Mitzel, Director, Communications & Public Relations,
O: (540) 853-6164 C: (540) 355-9035 | [email protected]
Secure Solar Futures Media Contact: Erik Curren, C: (540) 466-6128 | [email protected]
- Solar arrays at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, VA.
- Solar arrays at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, VA.