In the Media

New Research Shows that Solar-powered “Resilience Hubs” in California could Generate up to 8GW of PowerPower outages are on the rise nationwide as climate change brings more frequent wildfires, heat waves, and severe weather events. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of California have both recently established funding to help communities create “resilience hubs” that rely on solar+battery systems to provide emergency power for residents.

New report outlines possibilities of permanent California solar + storage “resilience hubs”“Demand for resilience hubs remains high,” said senior scientist Patrick Murphy, noting that California’s Strategic Growth Council awarded 11 grants for resilience hubs in February 2024, “but more than 100 communities requested funding. “In their analysis, Murphy and his colleagues with the group PSE Healthy Energy (PSE) identified nearly 20,000 potential sites for solar+battery powered resilience hubs.

HECO's Public Safety Power Shutoff program begins, leaving residents to question preparation“Income matters,” Murphy said. “Your ability to ride through an outage is very income-driven, especially to minimize the impact.” Murphy suggested that policymakers need to seriously consider the disparate impacts of public safety power shutoff programs as they become a more common tool to prevent wildfires.

Warning: 97% of Tested North American Natural Gas Samples Contain Cancer-Causing BenzeneThe study is the first to assess whether gas leaks contain enough odorant to protect against elevated levels of benzene exposure, and provides the most comprehensive data to date on residential natural gas composition. Researchers from PSE Healthy Energy and Stanford University collected and analyzed 587 samples of natural gas from 481 residences in 17 North American cities.

The toxic benzene found in tested North American Natural Gas Samples is responsible for cancer rates that make up 97% of the samplesSebastian Rowland, the lead author and lead scientist from PSE Healthy Energy, stated that smaller leaks are not typically toxic, but they pose a challenge in detecting and repairing, which can result in a persistent indoor source of benzene and methane.

Study finds California sitting on 8 GW gold mine with resilience hubsResearchers at PSE Healthy Energy explored reliable ways to keep resilience hubs powered on. They found that fossil fuel generators have significant drawbacks and then looked into solar plus energy storage as a more reliable solution. The research team led by Patrick Murphy, senior scientist at PSE Health Energy, explored whether fossil fuel would make the hub resilient in power supply.

California’s Solar-Powered ‘Resilience Hubs’ Could Generate 8GW, Slash Carbon EmissionsThe demand for these hubs is skyrocketing. Senior scientist Patrick Murphy notes, “Demand for resilience hubs remains high. California’s Strategic Growth Council awarded 11 grants for resilience hubs in February 2024, but more than 100 communities requested funding.”

Just how bad are gas appliances for your health?“Even when your stove’s off,” Rowland said, ​“it could be exposing you to a chronic low level of benzene without you ever becoming aware of it.”

The health impact of living near a fossil gas leakAt PSE Healthy Energy, Shonkoff's team have also been aiding this mapping effort by collecting natural gas samples from pipeline systems throughout the world and measuring their toxicity. Later this year, they will roll-out a Methane Risk Map. This interactive, online resource will show the various compositions of natural gas in different locations, and so help people estimate their exposure to toxic leaks, Shonkoff explains.

WV leaders defend use of gas stove after health-risk reportEvidence is mounting that there's an environmental health risk looming in many West Virginians' kitchens. That potential risk is gas stoves, but West Virginia leaders have defended them despite the potential hazards the appliances pose.

You May Not Be Able to Smell Your Gas Stove Leaking, New Data Shows"While these smaller leaks are not large enough to cause gas explosions, hard-to-smell leaks are common," Rowland said. "The fact that they are so small makes them hard to identify and fix, which can lead to a persistent indoor source of benzene and methane."

People with gas & propane stoves breathe more harmful pollutionBeyond asthma cases, the long-term exposure to NO2 in American households with gas stoves is high enough to cause thousands of deaths each year – possibly as many as 19,000 or 40% of the number of deaths linked annually to secondhand smoke.