How to Achieve True Energy Resilience
Does Your Facility Have True Energy Resilience?
You’re prepared for an energy emergency. If the power goes out, you’ll be able to keep the lights on and your facility running. That’s great! But you’ve only addressed one part of your energy picture. Keeping your facility operational during an emergency is only one part of having a resilient energy strategy.
A true energy resilience plan encompasses far more than just maintaining your services during an outage. There are three important aspects to overall energy resilience:
- Protection against future utility rate hikes: Pending policies in many states mandate increased energy generation from renewable resources and significant reduction in greenhouse gasses. Do you know how these changes could affect your utility rates? If not, you could be on the hook for serious price increases.
- Protection against utility supply risk: The utility company in your area may not be able to expand its supply or infrastructure to meet your future energy needs. If the energy company can’t keep up, how will your business be affected?
- Protection Against Power Disruptions: When the power does go out, you need to be protected. Whether it’s a major storm, summer blackout, or a grid breakdown, your facility needs to be prepared to meet demand, especially hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Why Diesel Generators Aren’t the Complete Answer
Faced with these energy challenges, most facilities will turn to diesel backup generators for their primary energy backup plan. That can be a costly mistake.
Since diesel generators weren’t designed for continuous long-term operation, they are generally effective for emergency backup use only. With their limited fuel supply, high emissions, and short-term operating time, they won’t meet most facilities’ needs for true energy resilience.
Even more concerning is their high failure rate. For example, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, diesel generators failed in almost 50% of New York City-area hospitals.
The Process of Developing True Energy Resilience
Energy-efficient backup power technologies, such as CHP systems and solar power arrays, address these drawbacks and provide companies with on-site power generation capabilities that can be part of a larger energy resilience program. These technologies also offer continuous electrical and thermal power generation to offset utility costs and provide rate stability.
Download the Energy Resilience Guide to learn more about preparing your facility for energy resilience. And if you’re ready to explore an energy solution that can help you achieve true energy resilience, our experienced on-site power engineers are available for consultations.
GEM Energy is uniquely qualified to assist you in developing a comprehensive energy resilience program, appropriate for your facility. We can help determine if CHP, solar, battery backup, or a combination is the right approach, and can handle the entire project from planning to execution to ongoing operation. GEM Energy also handles all funding processes associated with such a program, and these technologies can often be installed with little to no out-of-pocket expense.
To talk with an on-site energy solution expert, contact:
866.720.2700 or onsitepower@gogemenergy.com.
