How critical and emergency services can benefit from battery power

As blackouts become more common due to the severity of climate change, sources of continuous battery backup power can be one less headache—and a life-saving advantage—to fire departments and emergency services already faced with rising costs and operational challenges, explains Lance Honea of Swell Energy.

Extreme weather events due to climate change—hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms, flooding, heat waves—are growing in frequency, duration, and intensity, stressing already overloaded and aging national electrical infrastructure. According to Climate Central, about 83% of significant reported power outages between 2000 and 2021 in the United States were attributed to weather-related events.

In addition, the average annual number of weather-related power outages has increased by almost 80% since 2011. From 2000 to 2021, there were more than 1,500 weather-related power outages, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Blackouts are becoming more common as climate change increases the severity of heat waves, cold spells, and other extreme weather. These power outages incur significant costs: lost data, diminished worker productivity, suspension of output, reduction in sales, and even loss of life.

But power outages for organisations delivering healthcare, emergency, or critical services can have even further consequences. These operations must provide electricity during emergencies via reliable backup power systems, which could include a generator, battery, or a combination of the two. Power outages can jeopardise patient safety by interrupting treatments or preventing access to critical services.

Have you read?
Battery-led storage deployments need to sextuple globally says IEA
Biographite and the changing battery market

Firefighters also serve as healthcare professionals. In addition to facing anything from a house fire to a pile-up on the highway or hazardous chemical leaks, they are trained medics responding to physical and behavioural health emergencies. As such, fire departments are in need of continuous power.

However, such operations also operate under strained resources. According to the US Fire Administration, 70% of fire departments across the U.S. are volunteers. Fewer people signing up to volunteer in recent years also poses serious risks to people and their homes, especially in rural areas, notes NPR.

Indeed, sources of continuous backup power can be one less headache—and a life-saving advantage—to fire departments and emergency services already faced with rising costs and operational challenges.

Inside backup power systems

Backup power systems for healthcare facilities and critical services should incorporate several features that provide the resilience needed during power outages. Diesel generators have long been the first choice for backup power, but with a drop in the cost of batteries and considerations of fuel costs and maintenance for generators, batteries are becoming a more attractive option.

• Automatic Start: Backup power systems have automatic start capabilities, ensuring an almost immediate response during power failures without manual intervention. This feature allows for the automatic delivery of backup power, minimizing the impact to or risk of business interruptions.

• Redundancy and Scalability: Backup power systems are designed with redundancy in mind to avoid single points of failure. For example, multiple batteries might be installed on-site to ensure a continuous power supply, with the proper layering and stacking of cells, trays, racks, and systems for resilience and assurance. Backup battery systems can also be scaled according to the facility’s power requirements and size.
• Remote Monitoring: Backup power systems now offer remote monitoring capabilities, often via a mobile app, where facility managers can monitor the status and performance of the backup power sources. This feature allows proactive maintenance and ensures uninterrupted power supply during emergencies.

In February 2023, a seven-day power outage struck Mono City, California after a series of avalanches buried half a mile of U.S. Route 395 on the eastern side of California’s Sierra Nevada under 30 to 40 feet of snow and debris. This effectively cut off all access to the south. Thanks to the installation of Tesla battery systems, the Mono City fire hall quickly became a de facto community center where residents could access critical information, charge their phones and other devices, and prepare food for their families.

Move over diesel generators

Hospitals have long been required to have backup power sources in place to ensure that critical services run during an unexpected grid outage. To meet these requirements, most have relied on diesel generators, which are often unreliable, expensive, and vulnerable to fuel shortages. This is in addition to the emissions that contribute to air pollution, which can have serious human health and environmental effects.

However, a recent change in federal regulation in March 2023 no longer requires healthcare facilities in the US to power backup generators with fossil fuels. New guidance from the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services permits the use of microgrids and other clean energy systems for emergency power generation, paving the way for a new era of clean-energy microgrids at hospitals and other critical services facilities.

Critical care facilities and emergency services providers can consider a range of technologies for backup power. Battery storage helps maintain energy supply and can even level out grid usage even in the absence of an emergency.

The cost of resilience

A study by the American Hospital Association found that power outages cost hospitals an average of $690,000 per hour—not including the cost to human life and safety—further emphasizing the critical need for backup power systems.

Understanding the potential costs of an outage can help facilities justify increased investments in resilience and reliability.

To determine how much an electric grid outage can cost an organisation—thereby justifying the investment in backup power and on-site renewable energy generation—the Federal Energy Management Program has developed a Customer Damage Function (CDF) calculator. This tool helps individuals and organisations create a baseline of outage risks, quantify the potential benefits of resilience investments—and estimate the cost of inaction.

Backup batteries and associated energy storage technologies help facilities save on electricity costs in the long run thanks to several other benefits for the larger electric grid:

• Reduces energy waste: Because batteries can both store and discharge energy, they can help eliminate energy waste.
• Improves grid efficiency: Energy storage is instantly dispatchable to function both as generation and load, so it can help the grid adjust to fluctuations in supply and demand. This optimises grid efficiency and reduces overall system costs, thereby lowering costs for ratepayers.
• Prevents and minimizes power outages: By increasing the overall power supply, batteries can help prevent or reduce the risk of blackouts or brownouts, creating a virtuous cycle.

Incentive programmes to the rescue

Thankfully, incentive programmes exist to help communities and organizations defray the cost of battery backup power and renewable energy generation. Lee Vining, Mono City, Mammoth Lakes, and several other fire districts in the surrounding area received backup battery systems thanks to a special programme initiated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The CPUC’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) provides incentives for existing, new, and emerging distributed energy resources, with SGIP providing rebates for qualifying systems. Virtual power plant provider Swell Energy helped the departments apply for these rebates, driving the cost to zero.

Other states, including Hawaii, Maryland, and Massachusetts, offer state-level battery incentives, in addition to the federal government, which provides a range of clean energy tax credits and incentives.

Healthcare operations and critical services should consider working with a partner to help them navigate the available incentives, pricing, delivery, installation, and management of backup power.

“Given our isolation and extreme weather, the Tesla system provides immediate backup and provides added redundancy to the department’s existing propane generator,” explained Paul McFarland of the Lee Vining FD. “This keeps the lights on during frequent outages and provides the community a dependably safe and warm location during emergencies.”

About the author

Lance Honea is the VP of commercial and industrial sales for Swell Energy. Responsible for managing Swell Energy’s commercial solar and battery storage project sales, Honea was previously with Nant Energy, where he managed battery energy storage sales.