This report was authored by Ameresco and published on July 26, 2022. In recent years, major weather events, such as hurricanes and wildfires, have exposed vulnerabilities in our energy system that have left many without power for days or weeks, exacting a high cost in terms of lost productivity and quality of life. The price of many distributed energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage, has dropped precipitously over the last decade, placing them in price parity (or better) with grid-supplied energy. This white paper explores ways in which government agencies, companies, and other organizations can leverage their energy infrastructure to minimize the adverse impacts of major events – in other words, to become more resilient. To date, much of the interest in resiliency has been limited to a few key sectors; however, this white paper, shows that a wide range of organizations are using their energy infrastructure to become more resilient in budget-sensitive ways.

Keywords: Building Retrofits, Cloud & Data Analytics, Construction/New Buildings, Energy Efficiency/Management, Intelligent Building, Large Building Controls/Automation, Renewable Energy, Smart Grid, System Integrator, Utilities, Zero Net Energy, Resiliency, MicroGrid, DER