Bloomberg: EcoBlock Energy team co-lead and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) research scientist Rich Brown discusses the future of microgrids and securing equitable access to clean energy in a Bloomberg Green feature piece published on February 18, 2021.
“Low income neighborhoods tend to have more pollution, and the capital required to go solar or buy a battery is just too high. […] There’s an equity issue. EcoBlock could be a model for how you could collectively take a neighborhood and make it more resilient, and do it cost effectively.”
Getting Off Gas, Block by Block
Despite its complexities, block-level decommissioning is likely more effective than an individual, house-by-house approach, offering untapped economies of scale that can be replicated across California. Dr. Therese Peffer provides insight into the challenges of pruning gas at the neighborhood block scale and its implications for the Oakland EcoBlock project.