Valuing Resilience: Exploring the Role of Solar+Storage in Grid Outages

The devastating 2017 hurricane season raised awareness of the importance of resilience in the face of natural disasters, particularly the widespread impact of extended power outages in Puerto Rico. But what exactly is energy resilience and how can resiliency be considered in our decision making processes?

In this webinar, experts from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) shared how they are approaching the topic of resiliency. The presenters gave an overview of the importance of considering energy resilience when planning and making investment decisions, followed by a discussion of how solar technology can be deployed to help mitigate outages. The webinar included a review of the findings detailed in a recent paper released by NREL and Clean Energy Group, Valuing the Resilience Provided by Solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems, which illustrates the impact of valuing resilience on solar+storage system sizing.

Presenters:

• Eliza Hotchkiss, Technical Project Lead, Markets & Policy Impact Analysis Group, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Joyce McLaren, Senior Energy Analyst, Markets & Policy Analysis Group, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Nick Laws, Engineer – Energy Systems Modeling, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Seth Mullendore, Vice President and Project Director, Clean Energy Group