Climate-Induced Wildfires and Strengthening Resilience in Electricity Infrastructure

Abstract

In recent times, climate-induced disasters have overwhelmed many parts of the world destroying human and non-human communities and ecosystems. In this article, we focus on a unique type of infrastructure – electricity grids. We collate the latest climate science, relate it to electricity infrastructure and shine a light on the ways in which electricity infrastructure has been impacted by climate-induced wildfires in Australia and California. The two jurisdictions are comparable in many respects but illustrate different approaches to grid governance. They also conceptualize risk management differently, with Australia focusing on resilience as a standalone concept and California viewing resilience as only one aspect of climate change adaptation. We investigate the resilience strategies of both jurisdictions and identify the strategies, including technological ones, that are needed to build resilience in the sector.

Keywords

• climate-induced wildfires
• climate science
• electricity infrastructure
• renewable energy technologies
• battery storage
• building resilience