By: Gage Stewart
Introduction
Every year, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters strike the coast of Louisiana, thrashing local communities and leaving behind desolation, disaster, and despair. Though the initial impact of these dangerous events drives residents from their homes and businesses, it is the loss of power and access to necessary resources that keeps them out of their homes and away from their work. The loss of power and therefore access to resources stifles cleanup efforts and makes the deleterious effects of natural disasters even worse. So why is the power so tough to get back on?
In a traditional power grid—i.e., the vast majority of power grids across the United States (“U.S.”)—power is transferred from some central power facility, often far away, through transmission lines, breaking off into smaller transmission lines along the way, which lead to individual homes, offices, and other buildings and supply them with power.[1] Think of these traditional grids like a chain, with each link carrying power to the next until eventually the entire chain is powered, from one end to the other.[2] To remedy this, microgrids could be integrated at the neighborhood and community level. This would allow the implementation of multiple small power sources along the chain, leaving only those individual broken links without power. By allowing residents immediate access to power, implementation of microgrids in Louisiana could vastly improve the recovery rates of communities smacked by natural disaster.
What are Microgrids?
Microgrids are local energy networks, or grids, that can be used to supply energy to relatively small geographic areas such as buildings, campuses, neighborhoods, and even small communities.[3] The primary benefits of microgrids include their ability to be controlled more acutely, allowing the larger grid operators to send power out much more precisely, and their ability to disconnect from the larger, traditional energy grid and operate self-sufficiently.[4]
In a traditional centralized grid, homes, schools, businesses and other structures are connected to central power sources, such as power plants, that transmit energy over long distances through transmission and distribution lines.[5] Traditional grids cover large geographic areas, like parishes, counties, and can even cross multiple states.[6] Under normal conditions, traditional grids work well enough, but when disaster strikes or a tree falls causing part of the grid to go down, everyone loses power.[7] This is where microgrids come in.
Typically, a microgrid is connected to the main grid and receives energy from central power sources just like in a traditional grid system.[8] When calamity rears its stormy head, however, microgrids are able to break off from the central grid and operate on their own using local energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, or even small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).[9] In this way, implementation of microgrids would allow communities struck by natural disasters to continue to operate when there is an outage on the grid.[10] Microgrids would further provide a steady and reliable source of power in each area where a microgrid is intact, leaving only damaged grids without power. The adoption of microgrids into Louisiana’s electrical grid would provide added protection during storms and greatly improve remediation efforts in the wake of its seemingly annual hurricanes and other natural disasters by allowing its residents to have immediate access to electricity following a storm. Maybe it is time for Louisiana to start thinking small.
How Would Microgrids Help?
A recent example of a natural disaster for which microgrid technology could have arguably mitigated damages is the desolation caused by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. In August 2020, one of the strongest hurricanes in U.S. history struck Southwest Louisiana, causing devastating effects on Louisiana’s energy infrastructure.[11] As a result of the mass destruction caused by Hurricane Laura, more than 14,000 power poles and over 300 electrical substations were destroyed, crippling Louisiana’s energy distribution system and leaving residents of some communities, such as Lake Charles, without power for nearly a month following the storm.[12] While the hurricane itself caused the deaths of four Louisiana residents, the lack of power and access to resources in the weeks following the storm eventually led to the deaths of 26 Louisianans.[13] Likewise, and even more recently, Hurricane Ida struck the city of New Orleans in August 2021, damaging all eight transmission lines leading into New Orleans.[14] The damage to these eight lines resulted in the City of New Orleans being cut off from all of its energy production sources and left residents without power for over a week.[15] In total, damages to the energy grid following Hurricane Ida left nearly 1.2 million people across eight states in the dark.[16]
Louisiana’s energy troubles following Hurricane Laura are clearly not an isolated incident, but a persistent problem stemming from Louisiana’s outdated and vulnerable energy infrastructure. Like most other states, Louisiana utilizes a traditional centralized power grid for power delivery from central power sources, through transmission lines, and eventually to individual communities and homes.[17] Unlike other states, however, Louisiana experiences frequent and extreme weather events that make its energy grid susceptible to large–scale power outages. This is why, when an intense storm comes our way and one of these transmission lines is damaged, thousands of people lose power. Further, residents are left powerless for weeks, slowing clean-up efforts, halting attempts at remediation, and increasing damage to personal property. If South Louisiana is going to overcome its vulnerability to the area’s frequent and ferocious storms, it must begin by adapting its infrastructure.
How, then, can Louisiana adapt its grid to be better suited to its environment? A leading proposal is the implementation of microgrids. Implementation of microgrid technology in Louisiana, or any state similarly affected, would limit the areas left powerless when larger transmission lines go down. Microgrids would allow the use of any local residential solar panels and other small, local power sources to power an individual microgrid covering a small area, such as a large neighborhood or small community.[20] This, in turn, means that all areas where microgrids remain intact would be able to operate normally, providing the power and resources needed to weather the storm.
Conclusion
Louisiana should follow the example being set by other states by embracing the use of microgrids. Legislators in Louisiana need to develop a plan for the creation and implementation of microgrids across each parish, especially those particularly prone to storm damage. Legislative initiatives should target Louisiana communities whose power grids have recently or frequently been compromised by hurricanes and other natural disasters to begin the implementation or microgrid technology as they begin to fortify and stabilize Louisiana’s energy infrastructure. Only by adapting and advancing our communities will we be able to finally mitigate the desolation and despair left in the wake of these savage storms.
[1] See Electricity explained: How electricity is delivered to consumers, Eia.gov (Nov. 3, 2021), https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/delivery-to-consumers.php [https://perma.cc/RVW4-8PKA].
[2] See id.
[3] See Elisa Wood, What is a Microgrid?, Microgrid Knowledge (Mar. 28, 2020), https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ [https://perma.cc/RY57-7Y85]; Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[4] Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[5] See Elisa Wood, What is a Microgrid?, Microgrid Knowledge (Mar. 28, 2020), https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ [https://perma.cc/RY57-7Y85]; Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[6] See Elisa Wood, What is a Microgrid?, Microgrid Knowledge (Mar. 28, 2020), https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ [https://perma.cc/RY57-7Y85].
[7] Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[8] Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[9] See Elisa Wood, What is a Microgrid?, Microgrid Knowledge (Mar. 28, 2020), https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ [https://perma.cc/RY57-7Y85]; Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G]. See also Gage Stewart, Honey, I Shrunk the Reactor: A Comment on the Journey of Small Modular Reactors Through the Nuclear Regulatory Process, 10 LSU J. of Energy L. & Resources (forthcoming Spring 2022).
[10] See Elisa Wood, What is a Microgrid?, Microgrid Knowledge (Mar. 28, 2020), https://microgridknowledge.com/microgrid-defined/ [https://perma.cc/RY57-7Y85]; Allison Lantero, How Microgrids Work, Energy.gov (June 17, 2014), https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-microgrids-work [https://perma.cc/P6LY-6C5G].
[11] See Hurricane Laura Kills at Least 6 People in Louisiana, N.Y. Times (Aug. 27, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/us/hurricane-laura-update.html [https://perma.cc/8M8Q-TXEL]; Richard Pasch et al., U.S. Dep’t. of Com., AL132020, Nat’l Hurricane Ctr. Tropical Cyclone Rep.: Hurricane Laura at 9 (May 2021).
[12] See Jan Wesner Childs, Power Outage Repairs in Louisiana After Hurricane Laura Cost Up to $1.4 Billion, The Weather Channel (Sept. 24, 2020), https://weather.com/news/news/2020-09-24-hurricane-laura-power-outages-billion-dollars-entergy [https://perma.cc/3B6C-8FFH]; See also Trey Couvillion, Power restoration in Lake Charles relieves residents without electricity since Hurricane Laura, WBRZ (Sept. 18, 2020), https://www.wbrz.com/news/power-restoration-in-lake-charles-relieves-residents-without-electricity-since-hurricane-laura/ [https://perma.cc/E2TS-ZPZJ]; Greg Hilburn, Hurricane Laura recovery: Lake Charles power restored; Cameron could reach 75% by Sunday, NewsStar (Oct. 2, 2020), https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2020/10/02/hurricane-laura-lake-charles-power-restored-cameron-may-75/5893194002/ [https://perma.cc/YGU7-SSAC].
[13] See Richard Pasch et al., U.S. Dep’t. of Com., AL132020, Nat’l Hurricane Ctr. Tropical Cyclone Rep.: Hurricane Laura at 9 (May 2021) (“Laura also caused 34 indirect deaths in the United States, 26 in Louisiana and 8 in Texas, from carbon monoxide poisoning, storm cleanup-related activities, electrocutions, and heat stress, among other indirect causes.”).
[14] See John Crider, Ida Is Proof That Louisiana Needs To Embrace Building Microgrids, CleanTechnica (Sept. 6, 2021), https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/06/ida-is-proof-that-louisiana-needs-to-embrace-building-microgrids/ [https://perma.cc/E9P8-REH6].
[15] See John Crider, Ida Is Proof That Louisiana Needs To Embrace Building Microgrids, CleanTechnica (Sept. 6, 2021), https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/06/ida-is-proof-that-louisiana-needs-to-embrace-building-microgrids/ [https://perma.cc/E9P8-REH6].
[16] See Owen Comstock, Hurricane Ida caused at least 1.2 million electricity customers to lose power, EIA.gov (Sept. 15, 2021), https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=49556 [https://perma.cc/Z74V-5CGG].
[17] See Sam Karlin, As Louisiana grapples with how to bolster its electric grid, leaders look to the feds for help, Nola.com (Dec. 26, 2021), https://www.nola.com/news/article_8b4d0e18-6364-11ec-bed5-cf18aebef1b7.html [https://perma.cc/U4ZN-H3ZR].
[18] See John Crider, Ida Is Proof That Louisiana Needs To Embrace Building Microgrids, CleanTechnica (Sept. 6, 2021), https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/06/ida-is-proof-that-louisiana-needs-to-embrace-building-microgrids/ [https://perma.cc/E9P8-REH6].
[19] Id.
[20] Id.