MAR - APR, 202019 According to a story in USA Today, disaster-prone areas in North America are adding more renewable energy in order to increase their storm resilience. Following Hurricane Matthew in 2016, for example, which caused similar destruction in North Carolina as was caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018, the state worked to rebuild the system with more solar and wind energy. Renewable power now accounts for almost 5 percent of its total energy production, more than any state other than California. While there is still significant room for Darin Paintergrowth, reports indicate that, while solar farms experienced minor damage from Hurricane Florence, these renewable energy facilities were able to come back online faster than those powered by fossil fuels. In California, where recent summer and fall seasons have brought larger and hotter wildfires than in recent history, legislators introduced a bill requiring the telephone industry to install backup power with 72 hours of runtime, in order to mitigate utility outages or public safety power shut offs, like those seen in 2019. Though this bill may have months or even years of discussion ahead of it, companies are already looking at options to increase their backup power runtime without increasing the hazardous emissions the state is committed to reducing.Around the country, the big four telecom carriers, in addition to using solar and wind power, are using hydrogen fuel cells at many of their central offices as well as at critical mobile sites. The U.S. telecom landscape is dotted with more than 4,000 fuel cells. In the Southeast, Southern Linc is installing an LTE network utilizing 500+ fuel cells for backup power. Fuel cell power was a strong solution for critical telecom locations during and after 2018's Hurricane Michael, providing more than a cumulative 2,400 hours of ongoing power for communications sites for up to two weeks, while utilities worked hard to repair grid service.What are the benefits of renewable energy for telecom? We already know that clean energy produces no emissions. It's good for corporate -- and global -- sustainability goals, decreasing the greenhouse gas load we ask our planet to carry. Renewable energy also increases the resiliency of networks after storms. When utility grids are damaged due to wind, ice, or fallen trees, solar, battery, and fuel cells are generally able to continue providing power. And power means critical communication lines stay operational ­ good for business; good for society. And with costs dropping -- and also subsidized by Federal tax credits -- clean power is cost-competitive compared to traditional diesel generators. For many sites, the question is: why NOT consider using renewable power?
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