Did you know an average guest room in a hotel uses about $2,200 in energy costs annually?

Locally sustainable power solutions make tremendous sense for the hospitality industry because hotels need to run 24 hours a day throughout the year without a break. Running a hotel isn’t easy, a hotel can’t afford a power outage even for a second. Increasingly, many such establishments have to deal with the consequences of an aging electric grid and a business like a hotel can’t fully rely on the grid alone.

A local sustainable power plant is an excellent solution for such businesses, it can help offset usage in hotels, especially during high usage times during the day, and can provide power during blackouts.

We all know the everyday running costs for any hotel are way too high, and a microgrid can also help in cost savings. Usually, tourist hotels are located in areas with high electricity prices. With the help of a local sustainable power plant, the hotel can get off the traditional power grid during peak hours and save on electricity bills.

Gridscape has been working in the hospitality sector for years and has developed insights from experience. Gridscape helps coordinate on-site, distributed energy generation assets to optimize costs; it also helps maintain power stability, including the option to detach from the utility grid to operate completely autonomously in “island mode.”

A microgrid can power a facility’s critical infrastructure in a more cost-effective manner by utilizing multiple distributed energy resources.

Also tourists today have become very conscious, they also want to stay at properties that are equally environmentally conscious and a microgrid can reduce carbon footprints and the property more appealing to environmentally conscious tourists.

The traditional grid is under a lot of stress due to climate change, aging infrastructures, increased energy demands, and pressure from EVs.

Local sustainable power plants are also known as Microgrids lie at the epicenter of rising energy demands with real-time adjustment capability of electricity loads in distributing scarce power during hours of peak consumption. These local power plants support a flexible and efficient electric grid by enabling the integration of growing deployments of distributed energy resources such as renewables like solar.

The three core value propositions of a local power plant include resilience, cost savings, and carbon reduction.

It is a known fact that a lot of disadvantaged & underserved communities have historically struggled to gain access to power.

Microgrids have especially made progress in such communities & regions because of their onsite renewable generation that provides the benefits of affordable energy, minimized pollution, and increased resilience and reliability all at the same time.

For example, in the event of a natural disaster or power outage, traditional fuel supply lines are disrupted. Microgrids can mitigate risk and help communities maintain power. Gridscape is helping San Diego, San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians (SPBMI) and Fontana achieve these goals.

SPBMI is a thriving community of over 1,500 residents. The region, however, gets hit often due to the reoccurring forest fires and this affects every aspect of life from power disruption to infrastructural damage. This unreliable power supply creates an opportunity for a decentralized system; a local sustainable power plant can give resiliency, reliability, savings, and above all, safety to the community.

A microgrid will empower SPBMI to utilize electricity that has been produced locally. It will give them a robust power backup solution that will benefit the economy and improve the quality of life. Furthermore, the project execution and the annual maintenance will be done locally which will create employment opportunities for the tribe and benefit the local economy.

As communities look to move ahead, rebuild, and recover from the past turbulent times , we are glad to have worked together to fortify the grid system for the nice people of SPBMI for a brighter future and to have made sure reliable power supply is accessible to all. Microgrid in communities offer local balancing of supply and demand, while also integrating the community as an active part of the energy system. 

Another local sustainable energy project was conceived at Willowbrook. In an affordable housing property in a low-income, disadvantaged neighborhood in Compton, California.

Also, this project came at a significant moment in California history marked by the confluence of policy initiatives advancing decarbonization, zero net energy, and equitable access to energy innovations.

It is a known fact that economically disadvantaged and marginalized communities spend a larger percentage of their income on energy. As energy costs rise and reliability deteriorates, it affects those that can least afford it the most.

Thus, the Willowbrook project aimed at the need to manage their electricity use and reduce the energy burden of low-income customers during this transition was considered imperative. The ultimate purpose of this project was to demonstrate project pathways within a low-income multifamily setting of how to maximize the benefits of solar PV and decarbonization for a vulnerable population.  At the same time, the project aimed to enable grid flexibility and environmental benefits that extended to the entire rate base.

Greenwashing as the name suggests happens when companies purport to be environmentally conscious and have eco-friendly products, only for the sake of marketing and promotions, without having any real intentions or efforts toward sustainability.

But not all companies using this marketing tactic have bad intentions, to begin with, and may simply be unaware of how to be carbon-friendly. However, due to rampant greenwashing by small and large corporations, most consumers have a hard time trusting brands when they make claims about their sustainable practices.

These days customers buy environmentally friendly electronics, screw-on low energy lightbulbs, buy low water usage washing machines, and electric cars. Fast fashion and unsustainably manufactured products are quickly fetching to be unfashionable among the increasingly growing climate-conscious population of buyers. Yet greenwashing is a prevalent marketing gimmick intended to mislead customers.

How does this hurt the brand instead of adding to the bottom line?

Greenwashing has changed its face several times over the past 20 years. In the mid-80s the oil company Chevron had commissioned several TV ads under their popular campaign “People do” wherein they promoted their dedication to safeguarding the environment. Yet, it was soon discovered that the brand had been overrepresenting its sustainability practices, and had been dumping oil into wildfire refuges, thus, actively violating the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Hence, it is understandable that greenwashing isn’t sustainable (pun intended). Eventually, embellishments come to bite back brands at the worst times and many may never recover from the bad rap.

Fluffy language, greenwashed packaging (paper bags with eco-friendly symbols), making claims such as “made with organic cotton” or “5-star energy-rated” can have serious consequences if probed by curious minds waiting to make some money out of a lawsuit.

Our suggestion would be to clean up organizational operations with eco-friendly practices. Make valid claims; instead of saying “made with organic cotton” be transparent and say “made with 60% organic materials” and start researching about being sustainable in your business. 

A good place to start your journey towards sustainable practices is to reduce your carbon footprint and use sustainable energy.

People often confuse sustainable energy with renewable energy. While most renewable energy is sustainable, sustainable energy is derived from sources that can be renewed yet do not emit climate-affecting gases into the environment while in use. The answer to our ever-increasing need for energy resources is a complex and nuanced one. Sustainable energy is a promising solution that, when considered with efficiency and effectiveness can offer a greener tomorrow within reasonable means. 

We all know the advantages of sustainable energy, clean air, a better environment, and a better world. Sustainability has become the most talked about topic in the world and why not – The environmental advantages of renewable energy, have been widely known for decades. Its numerous socio-economic benefits, however, have only become known in recent times as the deployment of renewable energy technologies has become more common.

Decarbonization of the world economy by 2030 is essential. Adapting sustainable energy is the only way forward if we want to achieve the objective set by the Paris Agreement to limit the temperature of the planet to 1.5°C that is, above pre-industrial levels.

It has been predicted that Earth will warm between 2 and 6 degrees Celsius in the next century. When global warming has happened at various times in the past two million years, it has taken the planet about 5,000 years to warm 5 degrees. The predicted rate of warming for the next century is at least 20 times faster. This rate of change is extremely unusual. – NASA Earth observatory

But still, there are many skeptics who don’t buy into the idea of sustainability, many still think sustainability is unnecessary and a marketing gimmick. This article aims to dispel myths and perceptions prevalent around renewable energy so that you can make your opinion based on facts.

Myth 1: Sustainable energy transition is unaffordable

Did you know that renewable energy is being used in developing and underdeveloped countries for electricity generation? It’s not only cheaper; it’s also more efficient. In many regions and countries, it’s actually the most economical solution for power.

Coal power generation is 35% efficient, meaning 65% of energy is wasted in production and transport. In comparison, electricity generated using alternative sources is much more efficient it can be produced and managed locally. Gridscape has successfully helped many clients transition to clean energy and has helped them cut electricity costs considerably over time.

Myth 2: Renewable can’t replace fossil fuel

In 2019 worldwide, 15 extreme weather events, caused/triggered mainly by climate change, caused more than $1 billion in damage each. Four of these events each caused more than $10 billion in damage. Undoubtedly, fossil fuels top the list of factors contributing to climate change. Therefore, it is essential that we replace fossil fuels with renewable and this can be done easily. Fossil fuel is finite, whereas wind, and solar are infinite resources and if used in the right way can completely replace fossil fuel.

Myth 3: Renewable energy is unreliable

They say, the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow, so how can renewable energy assure reliability. Conventional thinking has long held the opinion that renewable energy unpredictability makes them unreliable. Thankfully, rapid technological innovation in recent years has helped dubunk this myth. Now grids are more and more stable and they come for the rescue during extreme power outages, when nothing else works. It’s true that solar energy is only produced when the sun is shining but now there is technology and ways in which the energy generated can be stored for longer.

Now AI and technology are being used increasingly and in many ways to ensure grid stability and reliability.

Climate change is real and we must not waste time on such debates. We all know this for sure that the only way to save our planet is by transitioning to renewable energy sources. For us and the decision makers, now is the time to invest in renewable energy. Policymakers can accelerate the transition, both to fight climate change and provide economic advantage in the growing sector, while ensuring an equitable transition for all.

Net-zero essentially means cutting down on greenhouse emissions to a level of zero. This means contributing nothing to global warming.

According to WRI, ” Net-zero emissions will be achieved when all GHG emissions released by human activities are counterbalanced by removing GHGs from the atmosphere in a process known as carbon removal”. (Source: wri.org)

This means that the total greenhouse gas emissions in the air should not increase. This further means that we need to reduce emissions while also taking carbon out of the atmosphere.

Many governments and businesses have set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The U.S. currently produces 6 Gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions is measured in terms of CO2-equivalent, which is the amount of CO2 that would have an equivalent global warming impact as a different greenhouse gas (for example, methane or nitrous oxide). To achieve net-zero emissions across the entire United States would require reducing net emissions by an average of 0.2 Gigatons of CO2 equivalent per year over the next 30 years. If the United States were to achieve this goal, it would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by about 10%.

( Source: globalcitizen.org)

How can you help to reduce emissions?

Well, there are many ways in which each one of us can do our bit to reduce the emissions or to achieve the Net Zero target.

1. Use clean energy: microgrids are getting very popular, explore microgrids for your community, organization, campus, etc. They will not only you help achieve the net-zero target but they will also help in overall savings.
2. Use electric vehicles – EVs not only help reduce the negative effects on climate but are also very economical in the long run.
3. Use energy responsibly- Being more energy-efficient can reduce your costs as well as total carbon emissions.

Did you know you could save a lot of money and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide considerably just by turning your thermostat down by 1°C? 

San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians (SPBMI) is a thriving community of over 1,500 residents. Over the years, the infrastructure growth has transformed the community life completely. The region, however, is notoriously affected by wildfires and the devastation reaches far beyond the loss of homes and businesses. The community gets hit often due to the reoccurring forest fires and this affects every aspect of life here from power disruption to infrastructures damage.

This article explores key questions about microgrids and is written for those beginning the microgrid journey. It is part of Microgrid Knowledge’s About Microgrids series.