Pandemic response and energy security are both emergency preparedness issues leading us toward a more distributed architecture.

A client recently asked the question, “How is COVID-19 going to affect the energy industry?”

Initially, it may not seem like a virus and energy resources are connected.

Are we afraid that the power is going to go out when we have a pandemic? No, not at first. Yet, the pandemic can affect the grid considerably since it changes the way people consume energy.

We have been working with our partners Clean Energy Group and American Microgrid Solutions to analyze a variety of facilities for the potential to install resilient power. We recently participated in a CEG webinar where we discussed our real-world experience with these types of projects. So if you’ve already watched that webinar and are here to learn more, welcome!

CEG defines resilient power as follows:

Resilient power is the ability not only to provide critical power to essential facilities and services during a power outage, but also to provide economic benefits throughout the year, by reducing power bills and generating revenue through providing services to utilities and grid operators.