In mid-February of 2021, rolling outages left over 4.5 million people in Texas without electricity in their homes. The country was in the midst of an extreme storm, hitting (-) 19 degrees celsius, a 70-year record low. The outages, supposed to normally last for 45 minutes in extreme weather conditions, lasted for days. Millions were left stuck in their homes, without food or water, or any heating abilities. As the country was quickly being covered in snow and ice, efforts to stay warm resulted in deadly fires and exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning. By the end of February, 210 Texans died in various cold-related situations. The untimely debacle cost over $195 billion (!!!) dollars, and was deemed as the costliest weather-related disaster in the state’s history. After some investigation, it was found that a combination of failures led to the massive disaster. Power equipment was not well prepared for the cold conditions, leaving it vulnerable to extended periods of cold weather, equipment for other energy sources such as natural gas power generating facilities froze up, and wind turbines malfunctioned. Alongside the immediate human crisis, significant releases of pollutants due to stopping and starting fossil fuel infrastructure such as chemical plants and fuel refineries were reported, including one ton of the carcinogen benzene, two tons of sulfur dioxide, 12 tons of natural gas, and 34 tons of carbon monoxide. It was an all-round catastrophe. The Texas power crisis is a drop in the ocean of reasons for the massive U.S energy reform President Joe Biden is seeking to execute. With a green agenda leading his path, Biden has recently secured $73 billion for thousands of miles of new power lines, set to carry electricity from renewable resources, including giant wind turbines and massive solar farms, replacing coal and natural gas power plants. Most energy experts agree that the United States must improve its aging electric grids, as crises like the one in Texas, as well as heat-induced outages, are increasing year by year. But environmentalists, alongside electricity experts, and futurists are raising the question - is creating a “renewable grid” the best long term solution? An outdated, increasingly unreliable solution The first electric grid was set up in Europe in the United Kingdom in 1901, and reached the US in the 1920’s, and little has changed in its settings since then, making it 100 years old. As extreme weather conditions including draughts, massive fires, flood, all prompted by climate change become more prevalent, the grid is put under the spotlight, and results are not very flattering. The systems, originally designed to operate for 50 years, have long surpassed their Use-By-Date, currently in need of an estimated trillion-dollars-worth of repairs and upgrades. The grid is also extremely vulnerable to various types of attacks, and cyber-crimes, which are becoming commonplace in recent years, and could paralyze a country in a matter of seconds. The ever-growing performance pressure, and climate change-induced extreme weather events are also not helping. Hurricanes, heat waves, windstorms, wildfires and other events in 2020 translated into significantly more time in the dark for customers of U.S. electric utilities, as they experienced 1.33 billion outage hours, up 73% from roughly 770 million in 2019, according to PowerOutage.US. When thinking of renewable options such as solar PVs and wind turbines, that can be both a part of a grid, or a stand-alone, off-grid solution, existing problems make you wonder, why not move forward, think outside the connected box, and establish a new, off-grid reality across the US? At an average price of $18,500 USD including installation, $73 billion dollars could connect 4,055,555 homes to solar off-grid panels. And though it may seem like a small number, the effects on national grids across the US, as well as the environment at large, could be huge. Amore blended, diverse energy mix could be created, which could lower the US’s ever-increasing electricity prices, lower the current pressure on national grids, and lead the country towards a greener, more energy-efficient future. Solar panels could also connect to the existing grid, and benefit all the consumers at large. Net metering is a fairly new US policy that allows solar owners who remain grid-tied to earn credits for contributing to the electrical grid. For example, if the electricity you purchase from the grid costs 14 cents per watt, the net metered credits you earn will be worth just under 14 cents per watt, so high-efficiency solar panels allow you to cover the majority of your electric bill, while excess energy produced by your panels is sent back to the grid in exchange for credits on your electric bill. This is not only cost-efficient for private consumers, but takes the pressure off the electrical grid. It also means that less dirty energy has to be created and transported by the grid. Producing electricity on-site decreases transmission costs and spending on infrastructure maintenance. On average, the U.S. electrical grid loses 5% of all electricity produced during the transmission process, which is equal to four times the annual electricity consumption of Central America. By producing energy on your own roof, unnecessary costs will decrease. The African point of view While the US grid suffers from exhaustion, large areas, and entire communities across Africa have never been connected to the grid. Today, more than 700 million people live without electricity in their homes, mostly in remote, rural areas, where national grids are not a geographic, or financial option. This reality is slowly changing thanks to local governments and global funding organizations partnering up with private companies that are distributing affordable renewable solutions. For the millions of people already deploying solar PVs in their homes, never having a grid connection can actually be seen on a positive note, allowing them to leapfrog classic, and often unreliable electricity usage, and arrive straight at the new, green, much more affordable option. As the renewable revolution takes over the continent by storm, legislators need to take a long look at the future of energy and come up with better, long lasting approaches. There is no one answer, but off-grid could definitely add some much-needed diversity to the current insufficient mix. Renewable energy consumption is yet another field where the US could benefit from taking Africa’s hard-earned lessons. The writer is an entrepreneur and investor, leading sustainability-driven companies in Africa and the Middle East
