Across the Country, Solar Helps People Power through a Scorching Summer 

By Bret Biggart

It’s not just Texas. Across the country, power grids are straining to keep air conditioners running through this brutal heat:

• MISO, the grid operator for 15 states and part of Canada, issued a warning last week over high power use, high temperatures and “additional resource uncertainty.” 
• Also, PJM Interconnection LLC — the largest electric grid operator in the country, which provides wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states, declared a “level one emergency.” 

These power grid challenges aren’t a coincidence. They’re a wake-up call – a blaring reminder that our national power systems are under siege from increasingly extreme weather.

Freedom Solar’s rooted in Texas, so we have a front-row seat for a lot of these challenges. Of course, we’re in the middle of a blazing, unrelenting heatwave right now with a seemingly unending string of triple-digit days. But we’ve had our share of brutal winters as well, during which frozen power plants and gas infrastructure (in 2021) and icy, falling tree limbs (in 2023) left people shivering in the dark.

Both summer and winter offer powerful reminders that the energy world is changing, and we have the power to change with it.

Freedom Solar is growing fast — not just in Texas, but also markets such as Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Wherever we go, we see the same need: homeowners and business owners who are vulnerable strained power grids and the incredibly high bills created by that strain.

By tapping into solar power, these consumers can generate their own power in the heat of the day, when electricity is most expensive. If they invest in big battery products like a Tesla Powerwall, they can store electricity when it’s cheap and plentiful, then cool or warm their houses, charge devices and keep the lights on and refrigerator going when electricity gets too costly or disappears altogether. That’s how many of our clients made it through the ice storm in Austin this winter, and how they’re saving money and guarding against blackouts this year…

It’s time for Americans to live more powerfully by tapping into the sun’s abundant energy and creating a more resilient, sustainable energy future.

Repeated conservation calls might sound like a broken record, but they’re also a call to action. Power grids may get more rickety — and the weather the weather is all-but certain to get more extreme — but the sun isn’t going anywhere. 

Let’s embrace the power of solar and build a more resilient energy future, for people who are here and for generations to come.