The wildfires that are burning through California and causing power outages are causing a huge rise in demand for alternative energy solutions like solar power. Many consumers in the state, are looking to become less reliant on the state’s power grid, and are looking for a solution. EnergySage, a search engine for that assists consumers search for solar providers has released figures showing that people in the service area of PG&E have been searching twice as much for alternatives in the last two weeks.
EnergySage Founder and CEOVikram Aggarwal explained in an interview this week “Since the first shutdown happened in the PG&E territory, we have noticed a significant increase in demand for not only solar, but also storage energy systems.” PG&E provides electric services to over 15 million homes around the central and northern California area, and intentionally cut power to millions of consumers in a bid to avoid live electric cables falling during a bought of hurricane wind.
Aggarwal mentions that interests in solar energy, and alternative energy products have increased during previous catastrophic weather events, like hurricanes Irma and Harvey in 2017. “When you lose power, people start thinking more about resiliency and make their decisions more on emotions rather than just pure economics,” he said.
Alternative energy solutions are also becoming more popular in the state of California as a new government regulation is set to take place next year, which will force the builders of new homes to have solar power installed. With the current push to become more energy efficient, and rely less on fossil fuels, the pressure on nations around the globe is certainly coming into effect.

Masako Hekima – Bernet International
[email protected]