Wildfire - Reinforcements

Inspiration

Environmental Justice Communities saw extended periods of power outages due to risk of forest fires. These at risk communities that are both most likely to be affected by PSPS and most likely to suffer a disproportionate burden from them

What it does

Reduce power outages through Microgrids

How we built it

Microgrids: an emerging technology “An interconnected system of energy resources appropriately sized to meet customer needs within a clearly defined electrical boundary that can act as a single, controllable entity, and can connect to, disconnect from, or run in parallel with, larger portions of the electrical grid, or can be isolated to withstand larger disturbances and maintain electrical supply to critical infrastructure” - SB 1339

What's next for Combating blackouts with community scale microgrids

Funding There are several agencies such as the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy and Technology Office offering funding for research and projects in this space, so utility companies need to leverage these opportunities.

Community Input There needs to be an avenue for members of the Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park communities to be able to voice their concerns and priorities if we are truly trying to serve their best interest.