Since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina (that bitch), New Orleans has had to rebuild much of itself from scratch. The upside of that reconstruction is that a large number of homes going up there are installing solar panels.

The solar panels seem to be part of a larger trend in New Orleans as organic farming is starting to get a foothold there and a new fleet of hybrid buses have hit the streets.

The cause for the green push in New Orleans is tough to pinpoint and is likely due to a few reasons including clean energy tax credits and just the momentum of the green movement. Not to mention that in 2007, New Orleans was named a ”Solar American City” by the U.S. Energy Department, which meant a $450,000 grant for the city to establish solar energy programs.

But things have definitely changed since the times when the French Quarter was overflowing with trash. Solar panels were practically non-existant before Katrina (that bitch). Now, in the lower 9th Ward, one of the areas devastated by the hurricane, approximately 20 homes have solar panels installed.

There is a greater interest in the local ecosystems that were devastated by the hurricane with tree planting projects currently underway and well as plans for bicycle lanes.