In Emma, a diverse, mostly immigrant neighborhood just northwest of downtown, solar energy is playing a key role in that work, offering not only a backstop for the next grid outage but also lower utility bills year-round. Most came together in the immediate aftermath of Helene, when mobile solar-powered charging stations proved vital for Emma’s recovery. “Suddenly, there was an interest in solar where there hadn’t been before,” said Ingrid Johnson, a project manager at Poder. Sugar Hollow Solar, whose offices are just a few doors down from the sprawling, 20,000-square-foot Poder complex, installed the system. So the partners got creative: They instead have a trailer outfitted with 900 watts of solar panels and a smaller battery to help do the job.