Resilient Energy Systems

NREL supports increased resilience and security in the energy sector and dependent systems through analysis, decision support, and advanced energy technology validation and market expertise.

Aerial view of a ground-mounted solar PV and battery system with power lines in the background.

Our Work

NREL offers a wide range of services, including whole-community strategic energy planning, on-site technical assistance, energy-efficiency design and rebuilding strategies, and expert guidance in building a road map to resilience for communities preparing for natural disasters and other potential threats. We draw on our extensive technology development and market expertise to analyze and promote resilience in energy systems and dependent services at the building, community, regional, and national levels. specialize in assisting remote communities in the United States and abroad with incorporating clean energy into disaster resiliency and recovery planning. Our capabilities include:

Energy planning decision support for increased resilience and security, including integration with other services (e.g., water, transport, emergency response)
Analysis, integration and application of microgrids
Business model and valuation analysis for resilience
Photovoltaic plus storage analysis and application
Energy and water systems analysis and technology development

Energy strategies for climate change mitigation and adaption.

NREL's Disaster Resilience and Recovery Projects

Greensburg, Kansas

New Jersey and New York

New Orleans, Louisiana

Disaster Resilience and Recovery

We work directly with federal agencies, emergency managers, community leaders, and home and business owners to deliver technologies, tools, and long-term energy solutions for each phase of disaster resilience planning and recovery. Our technical assistance focuses on comprehensive energy solutions that address the full spectrum of multijurisdictional resilience planning—before and after disaster strikes.

Preparedness and Planning

We help private industry; federal, state, and local governments; tribes; nonprofit organizations; and communities assess and plan for regionally specific vulnerabilities and interdependencies associated with the impacts of potential threats, providing reliable, third-party expertise on how to:

Improve resistance and resiliency (microgrids, building efficiency, islanding capabilities, etc.)
Plan for secure, sustainable, and safe communities
Establish policies and codes that support sustainability, security, and safety.

Recovery and Rebuilding

We work with community leaders, business owners, and residents to identify ways to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in communities recovering from natural disasters, identifying opportunities to:

Deploy on-site technology demonstrations (e.g., emergency back-up power)
Incorporate energy efficiency, sustainability, and renewable energy measures into disaster recovery efforts
Design sustainable, resilient buildings.

Microgrids and Resilience

We help partners determine the value of resilience and develop pathways to cost-effectively develop advanced, resilient microgrid systems. To quantify the energy resilience of renewable energy and storage for microgrids, we use Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization (REopt™) model. Learn more about REopt and the REopt Lite web tool.

Our Partnerships

NREL has teamed with the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Power Africa to develop a Quality Assurance Framework for isolated mini-grids.

NREL has partnered with the Marine Corps on a single-building microgrid demonstration project and a larger, installation-wide microgrid.