When the Electric Grid Goes Down, One Campus Stays Powered

At Gallaudet University, one of the world's only universities designed to serve deaf and hard of hearing students, a groundbreaking project is underway: a campus-wide microgrid designed to power the entire school with sustainable energy. Gallaudet's microgrid can generate about 1.7 megawatts of electricity, putting its system on par with what it takes to power hundreds of homes in the United States. In this episode of "After the Fact," join us as we visit Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to discover how the university is combining clean energy innovation with inclusive design. We hear from technical and policy experts, and one student intern on the project team, who explain how microgrids can make communities more self-sufficient, especially in the face of increasing electric grid failures and extreme weather events.

You can listen to When the Electric Grid Goes Down, One Campus Stays Powered online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

When the Electric Grid Goes Down, One Campus Stays Powered is an episode from After the Fact by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

This episode is 08:58 long.

This episode was published on May 8, 2026.

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