LOS ANGELES, GRAND ISLAND-SEPTEMBER 3: A man rides a bicycle on a sandy road after being hit by Hurricane Ida in Grand Island, Louisiana, on September 3, 2021. Five days ago, Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane and brought floods, winds and power outages along the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

When Hurricane Ida swept through New Orleans in late August, it cut off 8 transmission lines and cut power to more than 1 million homes. Property losses and economic costs total billions of dollars. But this is an incident. So far this year, there have been 18 similar weather-related disasters.

The Biden administration will spend $65 billion to reinforce the power grid so that it can better withstand hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. But there are other solutions — solutions centered on on-site power generation: from buying a household generator to keeping a special hot water tank to installing solar panels. Most people don't realize that solar panels also depend on the grid-unless they have battery storage or they are part of a local microgrid. 

"The problem with solar energy today is that most homeowners think that as long as the sun is still shining, they will be powered from solar panels-even if there is a power outage and the grid has no power. This is not the case," Enphase Energy Inc. CEO Badri · Badri Kothandaraman (Badri Kothandaraman) said in an interview. "Today, all solar panels need a grid or utility. Those who are off the grid need batteries. As long as the sun is shining, we can provide solar energy for the home. That is a game changer." 

Enphase ENPH does not sell solar panels. It makes micro-inverters-the brains behind the solar system. When solar panels collect sunlight, it is absorbed as direct current or direct current. The inverter converts it into usable alternating current or alternating current. The panel can then provide the required insurance.

Consider a 2,000 square foot house with 20 solar panels on the roof: the usage rate is 6 kilowatts, and the electricity is 25 kilowatts per hour. Kothandaraman said that installing solar panels for the house would require approximately US$18,000 plus labor. But with the federal tax credit, it will reach $13,000. Because most people can survive with smaller systems, they can further reduce this situation. 

There are two types of inverters: the first is a single set of inverters, which can be used with all 20 solar panels, and is usually placed in a garage. The second is a smaller inverter placed under each solar panel. Enphase said its micro inverter is very valuable because it can operate independently of the grid during the day without a battery. However, the company can provide lithium-ion batteries for night use. Kothandaraman said the payback period is seven years. 

"Texas energy consumers have gone through a lot this year, and their interest in reliable and clean home backup solutions is unprecedented," said Mohammed Abdalla, president of Good Faith Energy, a solar installation company that provides services to homeowners and businesses. Throughout Texas, he said there is a deep market for flexible products and services. According to the University of Houston, 69% of Texans lost electricity and 49% did not have access to water during the freezing period in the winter. 100 people died and the economic loss was close to 300 billion U.S. dollars. 

According to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 18 weather and climate disasters this year each exceeded US$1 billion. These events include 1 drought, 2 floods, 9 severe storms, 4 tropical cyclones, 1 wildfire and 1 winter storm. Five hundred and thirty-eight people died. For comparison, an average of 7 incidents occurred annually from 1980 to 2020. 

According to the Institute of Insurance Information, the loss caused by natural disasters in 2017 was the highest: $133 billion. That was when hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma hit. The same goes for several wildfires in California. These losses have declined in 2018 and 2019. But it soared again in 2020: nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 88% over the previous year. Statista added that the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history was Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005: $125 billion. 

Some of these events are caused by climate change. The Chatham Institute stated that if carbon dioxide does not drop sharply before 2030, 3.9 billion people may experience a major heat wave by 2040-12 times the historical average. Simply put, a higher temperature will cause more evaporation. This means that the atmosphere contains more water, which intensifies the storm. It also causes melting of glaciers and rising sea levels. 

Public utilities are at risk. During Hurricane Katrina, Entergy Corp. ETR lost 3,000 miles of transmission lines and 30,000 miles of distribution lines. Just this year, wildfire forced Pacific Gas & Electric PCG to cut off 48,000 customers. 

In the insurance sector, the non-profit organization Ceres praised Allianz Insurance, AXA Group, MetLife MET, Nationwide Corp., Prudential America, Travelers Group TRV and Liberty Mutual Group for taking a hard line on climate issues. After all, they are the ones who clean up and repair expenses. 

But consumers also have influence-the ability to prevent large-scale blackouts. "Now, homeowners can fulfill the true promise of solar energy—making and using their own electricity," said Enphase's Kothandaraman. "I need to control my energy. I need to produce and store my energy. No one should tell me what to do. This is energy independence."  

Consumers are not only concerned about severe weather events and climate change. They are also aware of the high price of natural gas, which is the main fuel for household heating. Fortunately for them, they have a range of options to fight back—those that can keep electricity flowing during the day and night. Solar energy is one of them, especially if the panels are connected to storage devices and micro inverters that act as de facto microgrids.