National

The risk of wildfires in California prompted what may be the largest deliberate power cut in U.S. history. The growing frequency of such precautions could incentivize residential and commercial customers to turn to on-site power generation.

Why it matters: Such a shift could mean a boon for solar energy systems, but also a comeback for gas-powered generators in areas bearing the brunt of extreme dry weather exacerbated by climate change.

What's happening: The fires and power cuts are intertwined due to a complicated mix of factors, including ineffective management by energy companies, insufficient regulatory oversight, climate change, poor urban planning and suburban sprawl.

As PG&E considers power cuts over the next decade, people and businesses in California are looking at alternatives, whether solar and storage systems or more “traditional” generators that run on gasoline, diesel, liquid propane or natural gas.

Between the lines: Gas-powered generators are priced at roughly $100 per kilowatt, making them a relatively affordable, and easy-to-source, fallback.

Many also have multiple fuel options, making them resilient to shortages or price fluctuations.

Solar energy systems might also get a boost from power cuts, but the upfront costs of a solar system (especially with battery storage) can be significantly higher than those of a generator.

What to watch: Because a solar energy system requires no fuel, the equipment's lifetime cost is lower than a generator's.

However, the upfront cost of a solar energy system could still be more than most people or businesses are able or willing to cover when facing imminent power cuts.

Morgan Bazilian is a professor of public policy and director of the Payne Institute at Colorado School of Mines.

California power cuts could drive sales of gas-powered generators

The upfront costs are much lower than those of solar-powered systems.

A Home Depot employee pulls a generator on a cart

Photo: Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP/Getty Images

Energy

California wildfires

Expert Voices

The risk of wildfires in California prompted what <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="may be the largest deliberate power cut in U.S. history." data-vars-click-url="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-28/intentional-blackouts-of-this-magnitude-unprecedented-in-california-history" data-vars-content-id="d4e60e67-d858-499a-995e-69cf9df01085" data-vars-headline="California power cuts could drive sales of gas-powered generators" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-28/intentional-blackouts-of-this-magnitude-unprecedented-in-california-history" target="_blank">may be the largest deliberate power cut in U.S. history.</a> The growing frequency of such precautions could incentivize residential and commercial customers to turn to on-site power generation.Why it matters: Such a shift could mean a boon for solar energy systems, but also a comeback for gas-powered generators in areas bearing the brunt of extreme dry weather exacerbated by climate change.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

The proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to roll back regulations on methane emissions not only poses environmental risks, but also jeopardizes new leak-detection technologies that could create high-paying jobs nationwide.

Why it matters: Reducing emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential  up to 34 times that of carbon dioxide over 100 years — is critical to maintaining the emissions advantages of natural gas over coal, especially as U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) grow.

What's happening: A new generation of mobile sensors installed on trucks, drones and planes can detect methane leaks quickly and effectively, a study of the recent Mobile Monitoring Challenge found.

Scientists, oil and gas operators, and state agencies have been working together to update existing regulations.

The impact: Early-stage companies developing this technology are poised to expand,  but scrapping methane regulations could freeze their growth in the oil and gas communities where sensors would be deployed.

Between the lines: The administration has touted the rollback as a life jacket for small producers, but by its own estimates their savings could be as little as $2,000 per year.

Meanwhile, the move has met with pushback from American Petroleum Institute Members like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, who don't want higher methane emissions to undercut the benefits of natural gas.

What's needed: Colorado, which in February 2014 became the first state to put forward its own methane regulations, offers a better example. It required oil and gas companies to conduct periodic leak detection and repair surveys and mandated additional measures for tanks and other large methane sources.

The state's policies were hailed as a model by the Environmental Defense Fund and earned Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment a Clean Air Excellence Award from the EPA. They also enjoy overwhelming support among oil and gas companies.

Other states could take a cue from Colorado’s collaborative approach, which prioritizes the largest methane sources to reduce emissions at a lower cost.

Arvind Ravikumar is an assistant professor at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and a non-resident fellow at the Payne Institute. Morgan Bazilian is a professor of public policy and director of the Payne Institute at Colorado School of Mines.

EPA's relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs

The rollback could slow deployment of innovative leak-detection sensors.

natural gas processing facility with tanks and pipes

A natural gas filtration system in Mifflin Township, Pennsylvania. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Methane

Climate change

The proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="roll back regulations on methane emissions" data-vars-click-url="https://beta.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/08/29/trump-administration-reverse-limits-methane-powerful-greenhouse-gas/" data-vars-content-id="db74166f-9bbf-41df-be7d-2979dc9de946" data-vars-headline="EPA&#x27;s relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://beta.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/08/29/trump-administration-reverse-limits-methane-powerful-greenhouse-gas/" target="_blank">roll back regulations on methane emissions</a> not only poses environmental risks, but also jeopardizes new leak-detection technologies that could create high-paying <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="jobs" data-vars-click-url="https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/find-and-fix-datu-research.pdf" data-vars-content-id="db74166f-9bbf-41df-be7d-2979dc9de946" data-vars-headline="EPA&#x27;s relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/find-and-fix-datu-research.pdf" target="_blank">jobs</a> nationwide.Why it matters: Reducing emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas with a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="global warming potential" data-vars-click-url="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials" data-vars-content-id="db74166f-9bbf-41df-be7d-2979dc9de946" data-vars-headline="EPA&#x27;s relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials" target="_blank">global warming potential</a> up to 34 times that of carbon dioxide over 100 years — is critical to maintaining the emissions advantages of natural gas over coal, especially as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG)" data-vars-click-url="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=40213" data-vars-content-id="db74166f-9bbf-41df-be7d-2979dc9de946" data-vars-headline="EPA&#x27;s relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=40213" target="_blank">U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG)</a> grow.

Morgan Bazilian

Stories

California power cuts could drive sales of gas-powered generators

EPA's relaxed methane regulations could cost new energy jobs