Full Title: Lights Out? Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help (2015)
Author(s): Julie McNamara, Steven Clemmer, Kristina Dahl, and Erika Spanger-Siegfried
Publisher(s): Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Publication Date: October 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Power plants, substations, and electricity supplies are at risk today from storm surge and coastal flooding, especially in locations along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.
In these coastal areas, a hurricane or other large coastal storm can push water inland in a large and damaging storm surge. Crucial electricity infrastructure is exposed to potential flooding and damage during such events.
Widespread blackouts can occur even when only a few pieces of the electric grid succumb to flooding. We’ve seen it happen with Hurricanes Sandy, Katrina, Rita, and many other coastal storms.
What’s more, sea levels are rising, elevating storm surge and increasing the amount of coastal flooding—and the amount of electricity infrastructure at risk—when future storms arrive.
Flood mapping of five major metropolitan regions suggests that if critical components of the electric grid are insufficiently protected, they risk inundation and the flood damage and failure that can ensue.