This map denotes the approximate location for each of the 18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters that impacted the United States January-September 2021.
Image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Over the past 5 years (between 2016 and 2020), the United States experienced natural disasters that cost over $606.9 billion in damages and led to longer and more frequent disruptions in power, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Resilient communities with energy-efficient facilities and other distributed energy resources can reduce danger to public safety, security, and health. Below are resources and tools for states, local governments, and other public organizations on various aspects of resilience and the energy technologies that can help make a community more resilient.
Resources
Comprehensive Planning
DOE guide to resilience planning through estimated consequences of climate change impacts and assessment of system vulnerabilities to extreme weather.
DOE webpage highlights CHP solutions for successful resilience planning and implementation via examples from Better Buildings Accelerator partners.
DOE resource includes webinars and implementation models of how C-PACE financing can be used to make resilient buildings.
DOE guide with introductory information to distributed generation technologies and an excel-based or web-based resilience risk evaluation tool.
DOE fact sheet that shares case studies of energy efficiency and distributed energy resources integrated into critical public facilities and the positive impact on withstanding grid outages.
DOE guide that facilitates energy transitions by sharing experiences and insights from communities working toward a cleaner energy future.
DOE webpage to help organizations in different sectors increase their ability to bounce back from natural disasters.
DOE interactive web-matrix with a selected list of federal financial assistance programs that can be leveraged for energy resilience and planning.
DOE-compiled list and excel table of federally funded resilience guides and valuation tools that can be utilized by state and local governments for planning and implementation.
A step-by-step process for creating a strategic energy plan for local governments to help save money, create jobs, and improve national security.
DOE guide explores how energy efficiency and distributed energy resources can support resilience in critical public facilities and provides examples.
NREL guide that introduces key concepts and steps involved in mitigating technological, human-caused, and natural threats to the power sector.
DOE guide that examines the current and potential future impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the U.S. energy sector at a regional level.
Clean Energy Group toolkit provides the tools to better understand resilient power systems in the subjects of technology, economics, finance and more.
NREL roadmap that provides best practices for public-sector entities to convene for regional resilience planning.
Argonne National Laboratory five-step framework that enables state and local governments to work towards resilience-enhancing measures.
DOE and PNNL tool that helps organizations manage the risk to critical missions from disruptions in energy and water services.
Assessment Tools and Toolkits
NREL tool that helps commercial building managers identify the system sizes and dispatch strategies that minimize a site's life cycle cost of energy.
LBNL tool for making decisions to decentralize energy systems by calculating investment options to minimize costs or CO2 emissions.
DOE energy analytics system that can be used to monitor energy use, identify efficiency opportunities, and set energy goals that can build resiliency.
Sandia Laboratory tool that estimates revenue potential for energy storage.
LBNL tool that estimates interruption costs and/or the benefits associated with grid reliability improvements.
The Energy Department has a comprehensive portfolio of activities that focuses on the development and implementation of microgrids to further...
DOE tool that estimates the needed rating and physical size of grid-connected photovoltaics and battery storage to provide power for an extended time.
Webinars
This webinar demonstrates two tools and outlines funding resources for site-specific resilience planning.
This webinar explores the importance of community voices to ensure successful, place-based resilience planning, and features community speakers.
This webinar explores how state and local governments are developing their communities to improve energy efficiency and bolster resilience.
Learn how publicly available tools were able to help energy managers and other decision-makers optimize the unique energy needs of their facilities.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hosted its 2020 Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) webinars for grantees.
DOE report and webinar that identify federal funding opportunities, showcase innovative energy projects, and recommend steps for community preparedness.