Power outages are increasing across the country as climate change increasingly brings wildfires, heat waves and severe weather. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of California recently set up funding to help communities create “resilience hubs” that rely on solar and battery systems to provide backup power to residents.
A new study in the journal Risk analysis finds that strategically placing resiliency hubs throughout California could generate up to 8 GW of solar energy and reduce the state’s carbon emissions by 5 million metric tons per year.
Resilience hubs, located in community facilities such as schools, community centers, libraries and houses of worship, provide residents with power for crucial services such as phone charging, cool air and powering medical devices. Because resilience hubs are permanent (compared to emergency relocation centers), they can provide year-round services to address the vulnerability of at-risk and disadvantaged populations.
“Demand for resilience hubs remains high,” said senior scientist Patrick Murphy, noting that the California Strategic Growth Council awarded 11 resilience hub grants in February 2024, “but more than 100 communities have requested funding. “
In their analysis, Murphy and his colleagues from the PSE Healthy Energy (PSE) group identified nearly 20,000 potential locations for resilient solar and battery hubs. They determined the optimal system design for the daily operations of these locations and calculated the additional power and equipment needed during various outage scenarios. Their analysis integrated sociodemographic data to help officials target potential policy and financing priorities to regions where solar energy and batteries for resilience hubs are difficult or expensive, and where populations need it most.
The research reports, among other things, the following:
- Northern California’s coast faces difficult resilience challenges during the rainy and snowy winter season, and Southern California’s Imperial Valley is challenged when summer heat exceeds rooftop solar energy.
- Regions and seasons with energy demands greater than their potential solar output will be a challenge, requiring more locations or more roof space to provide resilient energy for hubs.
- If grid electricity is available and critical services such as clean, cool air for emergency shelter are needed, the capacity of candidate resilience hubs is estimated at 15.8 million people (approximately 40% of Californians). While this indicates that sufficient capacity exists, further research is needed to determine whether it is accessible to the most vulnerable population groups.
- Solar + battery energy for daily activities is often financeable and may not require additional financing, especially if sunshine and energy rates are favorable.
- Energy rates impact a community’s ability to adopt solar + battery systems. In places where sunlight is plentiful and electricity rates are high, switching to solar + battery energy more than pays for itself (as high rates lead to better savings from renewable energy). Regions with lower energy costs, while potentially more affordable on a day-to-day basis, make solar more difficult to justify economically.
- The total cost of implementing solar + battery power for daily use more than pays for itself thanks to the energy costs saved. However, more upfront capital is required to meet resiliency needs (especially for greater battery energy storage).
“Hubs provide services year-round, not just during disasters,” Murphy said. “So they can also help build a community’s adaptive capacity – before disaster strikes.”
News item from the Association for Risk Analysis
