Welcome to the club if you can install a solar power system at your home or business. The United States has established over 2 million. It is essential to know the specifics of solar energy systems, such as what happens if power fails.
Do I still have power if I own a PV system? According to current interconnection regulations, most residential solar systems must be connected to a grid to generate power. Your energy will be affected if a storm, cyber-attack, or other grid disruption occurs. Energy-storage batteries and generators can bring solar power back online. However, they can be expensive. Both portable and backup generators are less costly but can be loud and smelly and release carbon monoxide into your home. Battery storage is odorless and quiet. The power it can provide during an outage can be easily scaled to your needs. Batteries can lower your monthly energy bills.
The fact that you have choices is excellent. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy also works to reduce electricity costs and increase grid resilience so customers won’t be as vulnerable to power outages.
EERE’s Resilient Distribution Systems Program, part of the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC), seeks new ways to improve electric distribution systems using solar energy and other distributed resources. The Solar Energy Technologies Office’s system integration will also add solar power to the grid, making it more reliable, secure, and resilient.
In the event of a grid failure, the best way to improve grid resilience is to use the DER assets that are already installed. Smart meters, high-speed retransmissions, and sensors are new tools that monitor and manage distributed power resource systems. These systems can be used to provide electricity without the grid. We are also developing new electronic power devices that integrate solar power with storage and provide backup power. They can also respond to grid failures or electrical equipment breakdowns.
Microgrids can be described as localized energy grids capable of operating independently in the event of a power outage. We demonstrated last year that a Microgrid in Chicago could provide power to homes and businesses on its own, using battery storage and solar community systems.
We worked with Los Alamos National Lab to develop a Project which quickly restores power and reconnects customers after an outage. This process is known as black starting. The University of California at Riverside has developed a distributed energy management system with real-time utility control. We have also worked with five National Labs to provide tools and analyses to Puerto Rico to help design and run a more resilient electrical power grid on the island.
DOE works continuously to improve the electric grid’s reliability, security, and resilience. Solar power is one way to ensure that there will always be electricity, no matter what. For more information on the technologies involved in this effort, please read Inverters and Grid Services.