Blackouts in extreme weather drive demand for cleaner backup power

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “A lot of people start with a power station of that size, and they might use it for camping, they might use it for recreation, tailgating,” said Brian Essenmacher, North America head of business development at EcoFlow, which also designs products that can be used for recreational vehicles and homes that are not connected to the grid. Increasing demand The number of days when people need these backup solutions is growing as human-caused climate change intensifies and storms, freezes and heat waves strain the nation’s aging electric grid, experts say. “If we are talking about the heat waves, that’s almost guaranteed high ozone,” which is harmful to people’s health, said Max Zhang, an engineering professor at Cornell University. Benedict, 38 and an accountant, wanted something cleaner than the machines he heard chugging in his neighborhood, “these gas generators running all day, every day.” So late last year, he spent about $25,000 for solar on his roof plus a Tesla Powerwall battery in the garage.