Hurricane Ida shutdown all of Entergy’s electricity transmission into New Orleans and left hundreds of thousands across the region to suffer a week — or longer — in the heat and darkness. But rooftop solar panels made the blackout caused by Entergy’s failures after Ida bearable. While not powerful enough to run the central air conditioning during the day, the families’ solar panels did allow them to run fans throughout their home, distribute ice to the neighborhood, and even power an elderly neighbor’s refrigerator and oxygen machine. “During this whole Ida incident, I didn’t have to chase gas, I didn’t have to worry about carbon monoxide, I didn’t have to worry about extension cords,” Jewell Hazlett told NOLA.com. “The sun came to me.” More than 19,000 in Louisiana with solar panels. According to SEIA, the state ranks 38th in the U.S. for home solar panel installations. (NOLA.com)