Alexandra von Meier explains why locally sourced power may be the solution to California’s vulnerable energy grid
EE Adjunct Prof. Alexandra von Meier, who is the director of the CITRIS California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE)’s Electric Grid program, is the subject of a Berkeley News interview titled “Our energy grid is vulnerable. Locally sourced power may be the answer.” In light of last week’s massive PG&E power outage, Von Meier discusses why the current power grid is a fire hazard, why solar power is not a practical alternative during a power outage, and ways to make the grid safer. She also explains how one of CIEE’s research projects, EcoBlock, which is looking into stand-alone microgrids of electrical generation and storage that could be shared among multiple households on a city block, might offer a possible solution.