Renewable Energy Can Save Lives in Hurricane-Prone Regions
By: I, Climate Voices
Tags: Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Public Health, Hurricane, Power

By Dr. Susan Pacheco

Most people might be surprised to learn that the leading cause of deaths from Hurricane Laura was not drowning, or fallen trees, but something much more preventable: carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tragically, eight people died from the unsafe operation of gas generators when the power went out, including four members of one family. Casualties from Hurricane Delta were also energy-related, one from a generator fire and one from a natural gas leak. It is a sad and stark reminder of how extreme weather overwhelms our power system, sometimes with deadly consequences.

Dr. Susan Pacheco with a young patient. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Pacheco)

Extreme weather events, which are becoming more intense with climate change, are the leading cause of power outages in the U.S. and Americans experience more outages than any other developed nation. A recent analysis found that since 2000, the U.S. has seen a 67% increase in major outages from weather-related events. From heatwave-induced blackouts in California, to this summer’s destructive ‘inland hurricane’ in the Midwest, to my own experiences in Texas, it is clear that our nation’s aging power system is not prepared.

For the sake of public health, we must invest in more local renewable energy and other solutions that can keep the power on during hurricanes.

As the deaths from recent hurricanes make clear, these outages are not just inconveniences, they have direct consequences for public health. I have witnessed them first-hand. When Houston flooded and hospitals in the Houston Medical Center lost power during tropical storm Allyson in 2001, hundreds of patients including children were evacuated through poorly ventilated, hot and dark stairwells, many of them manually ventilated during the evacuation process, and waiting for ambulances or relocation in the streets of the Medical Center. Sadly, 20 years later, not enough hospitals are in a better position to handle outages which are only becoming more frequent.

This is not a future problem, it’s a right now problem.

Beyond unsafe operation of home generators, power outages have myriad other health impacts. Prolonged power outages are a threat for the safe storage of refrigerated medications and the survival of individuals that require use of electricity-dependent durable medical equipment. Being left without air conditioning in the extreme heat, or without heating in the extreme cold, can also lead to deadly consequences.

Instead of dangerous gas generators, hurricane-prone regions should be making it easier to provide on-site, non-polluting solar and battery systems that can keep the power on when the central electricity grid goes down. In Texas, Austin is working with a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy to pilot ways to reduce blackouts from storms using solar and micro-grids. We should invest in more programs like this. Business and environmental groups alike have said this type of clean distributed energy not only improves grid resilience but also saves money. States could also invest in programs similar to the one in California that uses government funds to provide free solar and battery storage to low-income residents.

Opponents will argue that renewable energy is unreliable and too expensive, but that is simply not true. It’s a myth that fossil fuels fare better in extreme weather — in fact, they do worse — and they are contributing to the carbon pollution that’s making extreme weather worse.

We’ve seen for ourselves here in Texas. During Harvey, rain-soaked coal stockpiles were rendered useless, meanwhile, wind power was able to bounce back within a few days and some plants operated continuously throughout the storm. The storm also shut down around a quarter of the country’s refineries in the Houston area, leading to gas price spikes across the country.

Renewable energy keeps the lights on during emergencies, and is critical to mitigating climate change, not to mention it’s affordable. Research from the University of California, Berkeley shows that with the right policies, we can reach 90 percent clean electricity by 2035 at no added cost for consumers.

For the sake of our health, economy, and climate — let’s invest in ensuring our power system is able to handle the increasing number of storms we know are coming.

Dr. Susan Pacheco is a Houston-area pediatrician and a professor at the University of Texas.