Clean Energy Leadership Requires Resiliency

Originally published in the Boston Business Journal. In this Op-Ed, David Anderson, executive vice president, Ameresco, explores the impact of resilient leadership in the clean energy industry. 

Massachusetts has long been a leader in clean energy. For the ninth year in a row, due to our state’s progressive policies and private sector support, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked the commonwealth No. 1 in the nation for energy efficiency. And earlier this fall, Mayor Martin Walsh unveiled an updated climate plan that will help the city of Boston achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. While these significant accomplishments are ones to take pride in, as a state that values clean, green energy, we can and must do more to prioritize energy resiliency.

Over the last several decades, extreme weather events that cause disruptions in energy service have become increasingly common, not only here in New England, but across the country. Last week, 700,000 homes and businesses in California were without power because of forced utility outages in response to high winds that threatened the spread of wildfires. Likewise, Massachusetts utilities are preparing for the winds, freezing rain and snow that come with Nor’easters at this time of year. Scientific evidence indicates that these extreme weather events will not only continue, but grow in size and scale at the expense of a secure energy supply.

Similarly, outdated and aging energy infrastructure across the United States will continue to be a challenge for energy resiliency. Take for instance the mechanical failure at a New York City substation this summer, which was fortunately mitigated by Con Edison, but left the city in darkness for nearly eight hours. Even minutes without power in a major metropolitan area like Boston can create serious health and public safety concerns.

So, while taking steps to combat the effects of climate change and making key infrastructure improvements will safeguard our energy supply, true resiliency will come from decreased reliance on the central power grid — ideally, with renewable energy and battery energy storage. Massachusetts is well positioned to be a leader in this effort as well. According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, more than 40 percent of our electricity generated in 2018 came from renewables and nuclear power. We rank fifth in the nation for installed solar photovoltaic generation capacity, with 2,354 megawatts of utility-scale and small-scale solar PV capacity. As the cost of battery energy storage systems and related advanced technologies continue to decline, opportunities for solar power, coupled with and without battery energy storage, will continue to grow. Distributed generation systems involving solar power will have the ability to sustain mission-critical operations during periods of high energy demand and in the event of a service disruption. The same can also be said for battery storage and wind power.

Improving energy resiliency does not have to be complicated or costly. In fact, our team has been fortunate enough to work with countless public and private sector leaders in the state to develop, build and structure financing for renewable energy projects within existing capital and operating budgets. There are a number of incentive programs at the federal and state level that help make these projects affordable, paired with financing options that can make them entirely cost-neutral.