Utilities in the U.S. are adapting their electric grid planning to enhance wildfire resilience due to increasing wildfire risks. This year's wildfire season has surpassed the 10-year average for both the number of fires and acres burned. As the U.S. embarks on significant grid expansions, utilities are integrating weather models, wildfire behavior, infrastructure data, and population impacts to prioritize resilience investments, according to Nadia Panossian, an electrical engineering researcher at the National Laboratory of the Rockies.
Utilities are also addressing aging infrastructure, which poses challenges beyond building new systems. Wildfires disrupt power systems by damaging equipment and reducing solar generation due to smoke interference. California has been proactive in requiring utilities to publish wildfire resilience plans, with other states following suit. Utilities are moving towards longer-term upgrades that consider future wildfire risks, including the development of microgrids that can operate independently during outages.
California utilities have incurred significant costs for wildfire mitigation, with billions spent and companies like PG&E emerging from bankruptcy related to wildfire liabilities. The U.S. grid is expected to undergo major expansions to connect renewable energy sources and data centers, with utilities seeking to incorporate wildfire resilience into these upgrades. However, the cost of these investments may be a limiting factor, as regulators sometimes restrict resilience investments due to budget concerns. Lessons learned from California's wildfire planning are influencing how the next generation of the U.S. grid is constructed.