Fenway Project Adds Climate Resilience to Affordable Housing

The 110 Peterborough St. apartment building will install solar power and battery backup to support residents during outages.

Updated on Oct. 30, 2026 in Safety

Fenway Project Adds Climate Resilience to Affordable Housing

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Should residential buildings in your area prioritize installing climate-resiliency upgrades like battery backups?

Fenway Forward is launching a climate resiliency project at an affordable apartment building on Peterborough Street. The initiative includes a solar array and battery backup system designed to keep heating and cooling functional during power grid failures.

Why it matters

The project serves as a safeguard for elderly and disabled residents who are especially vulnerable during severe weather events. By installing energy infrastructure, the building aims to maintain critical operations when the wider electrical grid goes offline.

The project received $500,000 from the Advancing Massachusetts Power program and $50,000 from the Accelerating Climate Resilience program. These grants cover 90 percent of the total costs for the 7-story, 35,000 square-foot building.

The players

Fenway Forward

This organization manages property development and community resilience initiatives within the West Fenway neighborhood.

The details

Fenway Forward is installing a pad-mounted battery cabinet alongside a solar array to provide continuous power to the 48 affordable apartments on-site. Additionally, a resident engagement program will conduct an audit of property risks to develop a formal resilience hub for the neighborhood.

The 110 Peterborough St. building was originally completed in 1989.

Seasonal Patterns

This project follows the pattern established by the Harbor Towers resiliency project, scaling localized infrastructure solutions to smaller affordable housing developments. It marks a departure from large-scale flood walls by focusing on microgrid reliability during regional grid volatility.

Residents at 110 Peterborough St. should participate in the upcoming property risk audit to identify specific vulnerabilities in their living spaces. This engagement will help finalize the site-specific resilience hub strategy for the building.

The takeaway

Smaller residential buildings are increasingly incorporating decentralized power systems to ensure resident safety during climate-driven outages. Property managers can leverage government grants to offset the high capital costs associated with installing solar and battery backups.