Two new reports by Clean Energy Group offer guidelines for cities to become more power resilient in the face of severe weather events

Montpelier, VT —Cities need to have better strategies and investment plans to protect their communities from power outages in severe weather events, and they can rely on new technologies like solar plus storage to do so, according to two new reports. In What Cities Should Do: A Guide to Resilient Power Planning and Solar+Storage 101: An Introductory Guide to Resilient Power Systems, Clean Energy Group describes a plan of action for cities to become more "power resilient" using new technologies like solar and battery storage, which can be more reliable than diesel generators to protect vulnerable populations from the harmful impacts of power outages in severe weather.

"Cities need to look at their critical facilities and decide how new, cleaner technologies can protect the elderly, the disabled and the poor from the devastating effects of severe weather," said Lewis Milford, President of Clean Energy Group and co-author of these two reports. "We have proposed a plan of action for cities to take charge of this emerging problem. We also describe how the emerging technologies like solar and battery storage have revolutionized the kind of cleaner and more reliable solutions that can protect people in affordable housing, assisted living, schools and shelters."

In What Cities Should Do: A Guide to Resilient Power Planning, Clean Energy Group says that cities should do the following:

* Assign a person or group in charge of the problem and implementing the plan;
* Identify the top list of critical facilities in need of protection;
* Assess the critical power loads in each priority critical building/facility that need better power protection;
* Determine the costs and technology options for each resilient power system, by looking at newer, clean energy options like solar+storage;
* Find a developer among the new companies out to provide resilient power, to partner and build the project;
* Identify financing options to get the job done at least cost, including new revenue streams that could significantly reduce the upfront capital costs of these projects.

In Solar+Storage 101: An Introductory Guide to Resilient Power Systems, Clean Energy Group has developed a guide to provide a basic technical background and understanding of solar+ storage systems. This paper is meant as a starting point for project developers, building owners, facility managers, and state and municipal planners to become familiar with solar+storage technologies, how they work, and what's involved in getting a new project off the ground. It is intended to be used by cities and developers to begin to understand the new resilient power options now available in these emerging, clean energy markets.

Solar+Storage 101 includes a checklist for cities or developers to assess whether solar storage battery systems make sense for their buildings. The checklist helps a building owner look at their utility bill, critical loads and solar needs and how these new solar+storage systems might help them protect their occupants.

Clean Energy Group will be hosting a series of webinars to discuss these papers in April. More details will be made available on Clean Energy Group's homepage at www.cleanegroup.org.