New report outlines possibilities of permanent California solar + storage “resilience hubs”

Energy outages are on the rise nationwide as local weather change brings extra frequent wildfires, warmth waves, and extreme climate occasions. The Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) and the state of California have each not too long ago established funding to assist communities in creating “resilience hubs” that depend on photovoltaic and battery programs to supply emergency energy for residents.

A brand new study within the journal Danger Evaluation finds that strategically inserting resilience hubs all through California might generate as much as 8 GW of photovoltaic vitality and decrease the state’s carbon emissions by 5 million tons per 12 months.

Positioned in neighborhood amenities like faculties, neighborhood facilities, libraries, and locations of worship, resilience hubs present energy to residents for important companies akin to cellphone charging, cool air, and powering medical gadgets. As a result of resilience, hubs are everlasting (in comparison with emergency relocation facilities), and they will present year-round companies to handle the vulnerability of at-risk and deprived populations.

“Demand for resilience hubs stays excessive,” mentioned senior scientist Patrick Murphy, noting that California’s Strategic Development Council awarded 11 grants for resilience hubs in February 2024, “however greater than 100 communities requested funding. “

In their evaluation, Murphy and his colleagues with the group PSE Wholesome Vitality (PSE) recognized almost 20,000 potential websites for photovoltaic and battery-powered resilience hubs. They decided on the optimum system design for the regular operation of those websites and calculated the extra energy and gear needed throughout totally different outage situations. Their evaluation built-in sociodemographic knowledge to assist officers in focusing potential coverage and funding priorities on areas where the place of photovoltaic+battery for resilience hubs is troublesome or costly, and where populations are most in need.

Amongst different findings, the examine studies that:

• Coastal northern California faces troublesome resilience challenges within the wet and snowy winter season, and the Imperial Valley in southern California is challenged when summer season warmth outpaces rooftop photovoltaic.
• Areas and seasons with larger vitality demands than their potential photovoltaic harvesting shall be difficult, requiring both extra websites or extra roof areas to supply resilient vitality for hubs.
• Suppose grid energy is out there and important companies like clear, cool air for an emergency shelter are wanted. In that case, the capability of the candidate resilience hubs is estimated to be 15.8 million individuals (about 40% of Californians). Whereas this means that loads of capability exist, whether or not it’s accessible to probably the weakest populations bears additional examination.
• Photovoltaic and battery energy for regular operations is usually financeable and should not require further funding, particularly in places where sunshine and utility charges are favorable.
• Utility charges affect the power of a neighborhood to undertake photovoltaic and battery energy programs. In locations where daylight is plentiful and utility charges are excessive, switching to photovoltaic and battery energy is more cost-effective than paying for itself (as excessive charges result in higher financial savings from renewable vitality). Areas with decreased utility prices, which are probably higher for affordability each day, make photovoltaic tougher to justify economically.
• The overall value of implementing photovoltaic and battery energy for regular use is greater than it pays for itself with saved utility bills. Nevertheless, extra upfront capital is required to fulfill resilience wants (principally for elevated battery vitality storage).

“Hubs present companies year-round, not simply throughout disasters,” mentioned Murphy. “To allow them to additionally assist in constructing a neighborhood’s adaptive capability – earlier than a catastrophe hits.”

Information merchandise from the Society for Danger Evaluation