Building Energy-Resilient Oregon Communities
One of the recurring themes in the Oregon Department of Energy’s 2020 Biennial Energy Report is resilience – a term used to describe how our energy systems can withstand the effects of emergencies that disrupt energy delivery, and how fast these systems can recover following the disruption.
We often talk about the “big one” – a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and how it would affect Oregon’s energy systems. But we also have other, more frequent emergencies that can affect the delivery of energy. In fact, in the last year major wildfires and ice storms across the state have highlighted the need to improve the resilience of our energy systems. Unfortunately, as Oregon continues to see the effects of climate change, we expect to see more frequent wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, flooding, and severe storms.
In our 2020 Biennial Energy Report, you can learn more about resilience in several sections (follow the links to dive in!):
Residential Energy Storage (Technology Review): Residential battery storage systems are rechargeable batteries that store and deliver electricity to a home. The batteries can be charged by the grid or an onsite generator, such as rooftop solar, and the stored energy can provide power during a power outage. In cases where customers agree to allow an electric utility access to the battery, the batteries can also be used by the utility to support grid operations.
Resilient Microgrids (Technology Review): A microgrid is a group of interconnected end-use loads (like a home, a campus, or even an entire city) and distributed energy resources (like solar, batteries, and diesel generators) that can act like a single entity within a larger electric grid. A microgrid can connect or disconnect from the larger grid, which means it could operate as an “island” by itself following an emergency.
Climate Vulnerability Assessment (Policy Brief): A climate vulnerability assessment analyzes the degree of risk posed by different climate hazards to various systems and assets, such as critical infrastructure used to deliver electricity and distribute fuels. This type of assessment provides information about the magnitude and timing of climate threats at the geographic scale and level of detail that planners and policymakers need to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies and actions for high-risk assets – such as how flooding can damage energy infrastructure or wildfire smoke can reduce solar power output.
Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (Policy Brief): A part of a suite of innovative applications, home and buildings optimize energy efficiency, smart technology, and DERs to interact and respond to demand on the grid. This supports increased resilience of utility systems – not only reducing chronic system stressors but also improving capacity and assets to facilitate recovery from disruptions.
Wildfire Mitigation Planning (Policy Brief): Wildfires pose a significant risk to the electricity sector, including the potential for a wildfire to damage utility infrastructure as well as the potential for utility infrastructure to ignite a wildfire. Utilities manage their systems to mitigate against a range of risks and we expect utility wildfire mitigation plans to evolve in the years ahead as climate change increases the likelihood of more frequent fires.
The 2020 report follows up on topics we also covered in our 2018 Biennial Energy Report, in particular a chapter dedicated to resilience.
In addition to our energy reports, ODOE has developed other tools to help strengthen resilience in the energy sector:
ODOE is a responding agency in the event of an emergency that disrupts Oregon’s petroleum supply, and would be responsible for acquiring and distributing fuel for critical services. Our Oregon Fuel Action Plan outlines the steps we would take to acquire and distribute the fuel; the plan can be scaled up or scaled down depending on the emergency.
Our agency also developed a Guidebook for Local Energy Resilience, with a focus on small and medium electric utilities. The guidebook identifies incremental steps utilities can take to improve business continuity planning, develop a framework to prioritize investments in distribute energy resources, and better understand the role of local utilities within the context of federal, state, and local emergency management planning.
In 2021 and in the years ahead, ODOE will continue engaging on efforts to improve the energy resilience of Oregon communities. Key next steps include more direct outreach with local communities to help them better understand and identify opportunities to improve energy resilience; informing the state’s priorities for investments in energy resilience; and working with key community partners to identify sustainable funding mechanisms for energy resilience projects.
Read the complete Biennial Energy Report online, and learn more about our safety and resilience work on our website.