Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood has a microgrid, which can operate independently if necessary. A microgrid, a smaller version of the city's electrical power grid, went live last year in the iconic South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville. It's this kind of energy reform, said William Davis, the executive director of the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership, that should "start in the hardest-hit areas." Solar panels on several neighborhood buildings are also contributing power to the microgrid, integrating the zero-carbon energy into Chicago's grid system. Together, the microgrid and energy initiatives represent progress in a community that might have otherwise been overlooked, Davis said.

---

Persons: Bronzeville, Jesse Owens, Louis Armstrong, Joe Biden, William Davis, Zheng, it's, Yami Newell, It's, Davis Organizations: Service, Congress, Heritage Area, Development Partnership, Illinois Institute of Technology, Black Metropolis Deemed, Department of Energy Locations: Chicago's Bronzeville, Bronzeville, New York, New Jersey, Texas