Advancing energy sovereignty through locally owned solar + storage

Hawikku’s Solarizing Zuni Households initiative expands access to affordable, resilient clean energy for Zuni families by deploying right-sized residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems paired with battery energy storage. The program is designed to reduce household energy burdens, improve reliability during outages, and ensure that clean energy systems are owned, understood, and sustained by the community itself.

This work builds directly on the framework developed for Hawikku’s application to the Honnold Foundation, which prioritizes household-scale impact, energy equity, and community-led implementation.

Program Need

Many Zuni households face persistently high energy costs, aging electrical infrastructure, and vulnerability to grid disruptions. Multigenerational living arrangements increase electricity demand, while limited household incomes force families to make difficult tradeoffs between utility bills and other basic necessities such as food, transportation, and medical care. Rural grid outages—whether from storms, equipment failure, or regional disruptions—can interrupt refrigeration, heating, and medical devices. Solar paired with battery storage directly addresses these risks by stabilizing household energy costs and providing backup power for essential needs.

Project Scope & Technical Approach

Grant funding will support the installation of net-metered residential solar PV systems on income-eligible Zuni homes, with battery storage included where appropriate to enhance resilience.

Each home will receive:

• Integration with high-efficiency heat pumps in newly constructed homes to reduce fossil fuel dependence and improve comfort

• A right-sized rooftop solar system (up to ~10 kW per home) designed to offset a significant portion of annual electricity consumption

• Battery energy storage providing 8–12 hours of backup power for critical loads (refrigeration, heating, lighting, medical equipment)

• Electrical panel upgrades where needed to ensure safety, code compliance, and readiness for electrification

Shovel-Ready Pilot Homes