The Importance of Energy Security and Resilience

29 Likewise, the concept of energy resilience is making its way into the American lexicon today. The concepts are interrelated, referring to the ability of individuals and communities to adapt to unanticipated situations and rapidly changing conditions, using contingency plans and backup systems. Energy independence is critical today, for individuals and businesses, to ensure human safety and uninterrupted access to critical resources.

What are Energy Resilience and Energy Security?

There is little question that American homes and businesses require electricity to function and survive. Unless you adopt contingency plans to ensure an uninterrupted supply of power, however, your home, family or business remains vulnerable to the whims of nature, equipment failure or attack. Energy security means just that: the peace of mind that comes with knowing you will still have access to critical services (namely power and clean water) in times of crisis. For any individual, community or region to achieve true security, it means identifying and adopting contingency plans. Energy resilience, as defined by Solar Outreach, a government organization promoting solar adoption, represents a community’s ability to adapt to changing and unknown conditions and to recover successfully in the face of disaster. In short, both of these terms relate directly to energy independence.

Why These Concepts are Critical

You need only remember Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina or the New York City blackouts to understand the importance of energy independence. Movies and television shows love to explore the death and destruction that could occur if some or all of the U.S. power grid goes down, but this fictional concept could easily become a case of life imitating art. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a report last year that indicated that should only nine of our country’s 55,000 electrical substations go down on a hot day, the dated U.S power grid could be potentially disabled for months. The current electrical generating system is dependent on aged and poorly maintained infrastructure and tenuous technology. Any number of enemies, including computer hackers, could potentially plunge the country into chaos and darkness.

Ensuring Energy Independence for Your Home and Business

The most effective means of ensuring your own energy security, and helping provide energy resilience for your community, is the adoption of solar power generating systems. Although researchers are spending their time studying remote islands and economically unstable inner-city communities, the implications for all Americans are clear. The adoption of alternative energy generation systems helps lighten the burden on the already over-taxed municipal grid system while also ensuring your own well-being in the event of an unexpected event or emergency.

Intermountain Wind and Solar believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to ensure our own energy independence. Contact them today to learn more about installing a solar power generating system at your home or business, and be ready to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from your own energy security.