California, the tragic ground zero for ruinous wildfires in the United States, has also led the nation in pushing its power grid into a lower-carbon future, hoping to counteract climate change that feeds the wildfire menace.
Could the growing population of smart meters, rooftop solar units, backup batteries and automated grid controls in the Golden State become a technology foundation for future wildfire defenses?
From a research standpoint, California may be the place to find out, says Mark McGranaghan, a vice president of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) leading teams on power system research and development.
The technology challenge is formidable, McGranaghan said in an interview with E&E News. "It's expensive, and it's a big integration headache" to fit new devices and strategies into existing grid management systems, he added.