Team Members:
Hanting Wong – Undergraduate in Civil Engineering
Brennan Hughes – Undergraduate in Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Cecilia Doyle – Undergraduate in Civil Engineering
Helen Hu – Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering
School: Johns Hopkins University
Challenge: Sustainable and Resilient
The objective of this challenge is to develop novel technical solutions to improve the resilience and sustainability of the built environment and identify ways for each proposed solution to enable underserved communities to adapt, persist, and recover from extreme weather and persistent stress, such as those caused by climate change.
Project Title: Solar Success Loans for Baltimore Resilience and Sustainability
Solution: Due to the changing climate the number of severe weather events is expected to increase. The growing number of record-breaking climate events is concerning for the power grid, as 90% of power outages are due to failure in electricity distribution systems caused by weather-related events that damage transmission infrastructure. To address the inequity in energy burdens, as well as the disproportionate effects of severe weather events for marginalized communities, we propose “Solar Success Loans. With this program the effects of extreme heat will be mitigated as community members will be able to afford more electricity, meaning more air conditioning. As more communities are developed with solar, the city will become more self-sustaining.