Exploring the Role of Battery Energy Storage in Reducing Power Outages

With hurricane season underway and renewable energy at the forefront of election campaigns, the industry is aware of the possibility of emergencies. Professionals in utility sectors know climate resilience and energy security involve storage, with the most popular option being battery energy storage solutions (BESSs). What roles will BESS play in the coming years in enhancing the grid and reducing blackouts?

The Role of Battery Energy Storage in Outage Reduction

BESS equipment stores excess renewable energy generation. They have many designs, but the most common is the lithium-ion battery. Other options include compressed air, flow batteries and mechanical gravity. They can exist independently on private property or attached to the grid to act as reserves in case prices soar due to a demand peak, or if an outage occurs and households or critical infrastructure are left without electricity.

The average U.S. customer experienced five and a half hours of outages in 2022, with hurricanes and winter storms the primary causes. However, some outages occur without major events being behind them. This signals potential failures in the grid and electrical infrastructure. Renewable energy workers can solve the darkest moments with clean power generators and integrated storage. BESSs promote:

• Grid stability.
• Emergency resilience.
• Climate awareness.
• Renewable energy support.
• Microgrid support.

It also helps homes and businesses through demand response, empowering people in a different way — financial savings. BESSs alleviate burdens from the main grid by sourcing from BESSs for cheaper. 

Many people include a sustainable energy storage solution or generator as part of their outage-proofing plans so the lights stay on. It has the potential to become as much of a staple as first aid kits and bottled water for the security it provides households. 

The Ways Severe Storms Impact Power Outages

Regardless if it is high winds, heat lightning or torrential downpours, a major storm is all it takes to cut a city’s electricity supply. Nearly every storm type is breaking records in severity and frequency. Renewable energy responds to these tragedies by having a constant solution ready. They solve many concerns about power supplies during severe storms.

The first is physical damage to infrastructure. Piling debris, falling trees and heavy snowfalls topple and bust transformers, power lines and substations. It is easy, primarily as most of the world’s grid infrastructure is nearing the end of its life cycle and is already weak. Around 70% of transmission lines are 25 years or older, which is not suited for a naturally caused outage or even a cyberattack. Repeated outages damage old infrastructure, making them more vulnerable after every outage.

A boost in energy demand over the years also complicates power outages. Energy workers must turn systems back on with enough capacity to meet an electricity-hungry population. Otherwise, the delicate, recovering system risks overload and another outage. BESSs soften this fear in renewable energy staff by supplementing their efforts. The backups give employees the ability to prioritize putting systems back online at all costs instead of waiting until potential output increases beyond demand. The shift could save lives and protect the planet.

The Impacts of Power Outages on Communities

Power outages are debilitating events for societal stability. BESSs prevent these dips in morale, productivity and safety in neighborhoods and businesses worldwide.

Other Utility Damage

Infrastructure other than electrical is impacted during an outage. Drastic reductions in heat and electricity transfer mean other systems, like plumbing, become a lot colder and less stable. Preventing frozen pipes in homes typically requires temperatures to stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is challenging in an outage. 

Other fixtures include data centers, which have quickly become the most essential electricity users in culture for transmitting information. Without operating data centers, every essential business connected to the cloud or processing information over the internet comes to a halt.

Health Risks

Outages force citizens into the elements. Extreme temperatures and limited resources are only a few side effects. Food safety and water supplies dwindle, and contaminants could pollute them depending on the outage source. A tornado may force unwanted pollutants into freshwater supplies. 

Additionally, emergency medical services exhaust their staff and potentially run short on medical equipment during disasters. People need ventilators and refrigeration for lifesaving medications or oxygen. Many pivotal medical devices require energy or an internet connection, so a few minutes of an outage could risk lives.

For responders and citizens, power outages cause significant mental stress. It can lead to behavioral shifts, such as erratic driving or unprecedented crime. People’s desperation during crises is preventable without backup sources of clean power. 

Economic Losses

Businesses, supply chains and essential services collapse during an outage, which can have lasting effects for years following. It may cause hesitation to undergo digital transformation, as corporations wonder why they would risk precious data and operations at the hands of a single outage. 

Fortunately, technology is also the answer to these blights, as communities and commercial entities could install a BESS for energy independence. Battling blackouts with renewable assets is the best way to educate end users on its viability and energy security. Storage keeps transportation, shipping and production alive, no matter the conditions outside.

Sustainability

Outages take a toll on the environment with or without a natural disaster behind it. Instead of renewable BESSs, many resort to fossil fuel-powered generators, which pollute the air with particulate matter. Increased moisture and runoff from a flood introduce mold into every building’s crevice or toxic substances into freshwater.

While biodiversity does not need electricity to thrive, an outage will change habitats. Excess pollution and nitrogen from failing utility companies lead to eutrophication in water bodies. Biological, metallic and chemical contaminants skyrocket, leading to biodiversity losses from consumption or promotion of harmful algal blooms.

The Solution Is Battery Energy Storage

Power outages will happen less frequently if the world installs more BESSs. Areas that have never had a blackout are now, and neighborhoods that are all too familiar are experiencing them in higher frequencies. As part of a climate-resilient and renewable future, BESSs solve multiple problems for energy workers and citizens. When nations commit to their integration, uptime, quality of life and environmental awareness will all increase simultaneously