Utility Swaps Power Lines for Solar Microgrids to Prevent Wildfires

As of September 2025, California's largest utility, PG&E, has been actively deploying solar-powered microgrids to replace traditional power lines in wildfire-prone regions. This shift comes as the utility faces escalating costs and risks associated with maintaining overhead power lines that can spark devastating wildfires.

One such example is the Pepperwood Preserve in Sonoma County, which has experienced two major wildfires in recent years caused by PG&E's electrical infrastructure. To address this issue, the utility approached the preserve's manager, Michael Gillogly, about installing a microgrid to power a guest house on the property. The microgrid, which is fully powered by solar and batteries, has successfully kept the lights and heat on even when researchers have spent several cloudy days at the site.

PG&E's remote grid initiative, launched with regulatory approval in 2023, allows the utility to earn a similar rate of return on these microgrid projects as it would on traditional grid upgrades. This makes the solar and battery systems a cost-effective alternative, especially in areas where hardening power lines to prevent wildfires has become prohibitively expensive.

As the costs of maintaining long power lines in fire-prone terrain continue to skyrocket, and the price of solar panels and batteries declines, PG&E and other utilities across the country are increasingly turning to these distributed energy solutions. By the end of 2026, PG&E plans to have completed more than 30 remote microgrids, with the Pepperwood Preserve project being the first to be powered entirely by renewable sources.