Micah Kotch is the managing director at URBAN-X.
Individual solutions to the collective crisis of climate change abound: backup diesel generators, Tesla powerwalls, “prepper” shelters. However, the infrastructure that our modern civilization relies on is interconnected and interdependent energy, transportation, food, water and waste systems are all vulnerable in climate-driven emergencies. No one solution alone and in isolation will be the salvation to our energy infrastructure crisis. No one solution alone and in isolation will be the salvation to our energy infrastructure crisis.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the California wildfires last year and the recent deep freeze in Texas, the majority of the American public has not only realized how vulnerable infrastructure is, but also how critical it is to properly regulate it and invest in its resilience.
Published: Wednesday, 10 March 2021 06:01
Large-Scale Solar Leads PG&E s Renewable Power Mix; Customer Rooftop Solar Rises to More than 535,000 Customers, Accounting for Nearly 20% of Nation s Residential Solar; Company Adding More Grid-Scale and Customer-Connected Battery Energy Storage
March 10, 2021 - SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) exceeded California s Renewables Portfolio Standard
(RPS) goal requiring energy providers to deliver 33% renewable energy by the end of 2020. PG&E estimates that it delivered over 35% from specified eligible-renewable resources to its customers last year, according to its recent Form 10-K. Overall, more than 88% of the electricity PG&E delivered to its customers last year came from greenhouse gas (GHG)-free resources, including eligible-renewable, nuclear and large hydroelectric energy.
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Extreme weather driven by climate change is making power outages more commonplace even as the need for electricity-dependent home health equipment grows. In this context, battery storage can help protect medically vulnerable households, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The article is published in the journal
Futures.
For the millions reliant on electricity for home medical equipment, even short-term power outages can lead to a potentially life-threatening situation. Society s most vulnerable populations elders, the ill, and the poor face the greatest risks. Only a fraction of individuals who rely on medical equipment like oxygen concentrators, nebulizers, ventilators, dialysis, and sleep apnea machines has an alternative source of power to use in the event of an outage. During outages related to the 2019 Camp Fire in Northern California, vulnerable residents reported complications, including one man who awoke when his sleep
One of the most recent developments in the industry is the shift to LFP chemistry, a non-toxic, non-hazardous solution that allows for longer battery cycle life, increased reliability, and enhanced safety. We knew we had to create our own LFP option.
Covid-19 & Looking Ahead to 2021 and Beyond, Insights From Electriq Power
Q&A with Aric Saunders EVP of Sales and Marketing | Electriq Power
Tell us about yourself and your company.
Electriq Power is an energy storage solutions company based in California that designs, engineers, and assembles fully integrated energy management and storage solutions for homes and small businesses, delivered and deployed by a network of installers across North America.
California regulators are on the cusp of breaking open a long-awaited opportunity to enlist rooftop solar, behind-the-meter batteries and other distributed energy resources (DERs) to substitute for expensive grid upgrades.
It’s called the Partnership Pilot, and according to DER developers, it could be a major step forward in a distribution resources plan effort that’s been underway in California since 2014 and is being duplicated under names like distribution system planning and integrated distribution planning in many other states.
The goal of these state-by-state efforts is to find ways for utilities, customers and third-party aggregators to capture the grid value of DERs. One clear opportunity is getting them to respond to utility signals to reduce peak loads on local grid circuits.