Direct Relief
Keeping warehouse IT and cold-chain systems online with a solar microgrid
Climate-related network risk: Wildfire-related power shutoffs, grid outages, storms, earthquakes, debris flows and loss of electricity to warehouse IT, servers, communications and cold-chain systems
Solution pathway: Islandable solar-plus-storage microgrid, backup generation, critical-load prioritisation and resilient power for warehouse operations
Business type: Humanitarian medical logistics and pharmaceutical distribution organisation
Sector: Healthcare logistics, pharmaceutical warehousing, cold chain distribution and emergency response
Geography: United States, with global humanitarian distribution operations
In practice
Warehouse and logistics operations depend on electricity not only for lighting and equipment, but also for the digital systems that coordinate stock, orders, communications and distribution. For pharmaceutical and medical supply logistics, power failure can also affect cold-chain storage, putting temperature-sensitive products such as vaccines, insulin and other medicines at risk.
Direct Relief operates a large medical aid warehouse and distribution centre in Santa Barbara, California. The facility stores and distributes humanitarian medical supplies, including temperature-sensitive medicines, and supports emergency response operations across the United States and internationally. Its operations depend on continuous power for warehouse systems, cold rooms, refrigeration, communications, servers and logistics coordination.
The organisation recognised that its facility was exposed to power disruption. Its location in the Goleta Load Pocket, a disaster-prone coastal area served by limited transmission infrastructure, creates vulnerability to outages linked to wildfires, public safety power shutoffs, earthquakes, debris flows and other hazards. A prolonged outage could disrupt both physical stock protection and the digital systems needed to coordinate medical supply distribution.
To reduce this risk, Direct Relief installed a solar-plus-storage microgrid at the site, supported by diesel generation as a final backup. The system was designed so that, during a grid outage, the facility could operate independently from the wider electricity network. Solar panels provide power during the day, batteries provide stored energy when solar generation falls, and backup generation is available if needed.
The system protects both physical and digital continuity. It helps keep medicine-filled refrigerators cold, warehouse operations running and servers with critical data online. This means the facility can continue receiving, managing and dispatching medical supplies even if the surrounding grid is disrupted.
The case is useful for this section because it shows how digital systems resilience in logistics can depend on resilient power. A warehouse management system, inventory database or logistics control process is only useful if the site has electricity, connectivity and the ability to operate during disruption. Direct Relief’s approach shows how businesses can identify critical digital and operational loads, then design backup power around those loads rather than treating power resilience as a general facilities issue.
Why this example was selected
This case study was curated because Direct Relief is an externally documented example of a logistics facility investing in resilient power to protect both warehouse operations and digital systems. The Clean Coalition has profiled the Direct Relief solar microgrid as a community microgrid case study, highlighting the organisation’s exposure to power outages and the role of the system in supporting critical loads during prolonged disruption.
The case has also been covered by independent media, including Fast Company, which reported that the microgrid can run the entire warehouse, including medicine refrigeration and servers with critical data. Direct Relief itself is a recognised humanitarian logistics organisation, with a large medical distribution centre and global emergency response role.
The example is valuable for the platform because it shows an adaptation pathway that is directly relevant to warehouses, fulfilment centres, cold stores and distribution hubs. Digital resilience is not only about cloud software or backup data; it also depends on keeping the physical site powered so that warehouse systems, communications and automated processes can function during climate-related disruption.
Key lesson
Businesses should identify the digital and operational systems that must remain powered during disruption. Resilient power, critical-load planning and backup generation can help keep warehouse IT, communications and product-protection systems online when the grid fails.
