Add Diesel to Your Business’s Disaster-Prep Checklist to Be Sure You’re #HurricaneStrong

Ready, Reliable and Renewable Diesel Generators Provide Essential Emergency Power, Support Recovery Efforts, and Play a Vital Role in Microgrids


WASHINGTON, May 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Is your business #HurricaneStrong, with an emergency backup diesel generator in place and ready in case of a natural disaster? This week is a good time to assess your business’s needs: it’s National Hurricane Preparedness Week, when the National Weather Service encourages all U.S. citizens to prepare for the start of the 2019 hurricane season on June 1.

“Businesses, governments and private citizens alike ought to make sure they are prepared for and can respond to any emergency,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. “Diesel generators provide essential power during hurricanes and other weather-related natural disasters. These units achieve full load-carrying capacity within 10 seconds of grid power outage – which means any mission-critical services experience minimal or no loss of power. Ensuring this type of resilient backup power is in place also helps minimize losses from any storm-related event.”

Business losses from power interruptions vary by sector, but are costly across the board:

  • According to a 2017 survey by ITIC, 98% of enterprises with more than 1,000 employees say a single hour of downtime for mission-critical IT servers and networks can cost over $100,000; 81% of organizations report that this cost exceeds $300,000; and 33% indicate a hour of downtime costs an excess of $1 million. 
  • According to a 2016 survey of 63 data centers by the Ponemon Institute, an unplanned data center outage of about 95 minutes costs more than $740,000, on average.
  • A 2013 U.S. government report found that weather-related outages between 2003 and 2012 cost the U.S. economy an annual average of $18 billion to $33 billion.

Choosing the right diesel generator for your business is a critical first step to successful event recovery. Diesel generators come in various mobile sizes and configurations and come with their own standalone fuel supply – important when other sources of power are disabled by utilities in an emergency situation. Many of these diesel generators are built to withstand temperatures below 0°F and built to withstand winds up to 180 miles per hour.

“Most Americans are unaware of the important role diesel technology plays in ensuring vital routine and emergency services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and especially in the aftermath of a storm,” said Schaeffer. “Hospitals, police stations, power plants, banks, cell phone transmission towers, schools – plus those systems even more essential to public health after a storm: public drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, and flood protection pump stations – most of these pieces of critical infrastructure typically rely on stand-by diesel generators for emergency power.”

Today, advanced technology diesel engines and equipment are being integrated into the newest distributed and sustainable energy systems such as renewable- and battery-driven microgrids. These new-generation systems give operators the renewable wind or solar that they want, with the reliability that they need coming from standby diesel generators. 

Other types of diesel technologies also play important roles in supporting rescue and recovery efforts after natural disasters. More than 98 percent of ambulances, fire trucks, mobile command centers and other first-responder vehicles rely on diesel fuel. And after storms have passed, the giant construction trucks, bulldozers, excavators, loaders and dump trucks that move in to assist with clean-up are also powered by diesel; in the U.S., more than 75 percent of construction equipment is fueled by diesel. Diesel is also the technology of choice for large commercial trucks and rescue vehicles that will deliver food and vital supplies to help feed, clothe and provide medical supplies to storm ravaged communities; 99 percent of U.S. Class 8 trucks use diesel fuel

More information about diesel generators and equipment can be found at Caterpillar, Cummins, John Deere, Isuzu, MTU, Volvo, and Yanmar.

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Resources to Help Your Business Prepare for Hurricane Season 


Tips, Advice and Stories from Our Members From the Diesel Technology Forum: 


From Caterpillar: 

From Cummins: 

From John Deere: 

  
From MTU: 

 
Resources for More Information About Clean Diesel’s Role in Hurricane Readiness 


About The Diesel Technology Forum
The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology. Forum members are leaders in clean diesel technology and represent the three key elements of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, vehicles and equipment, cleaner diesel fuel and emissions-control systems. For more information visit https://www.dieselforum.org/.

Connect with the Diesel Technology Forum
For the latest insights and information from the leaders in clean diesel technology, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @DieselTechForum, or YouTube @DieselTechForum and connect with us on LinkedIn. Get it all by subscribing to our newsletter Diesel Direct for a weekly wrap-up of clean diesel news, policy analysis and more direct to your inbox.

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From hospitals to water treatment facilities or airport control towers, every second counts when the power fails. Fortunately, within 10 seconds of a power failure, diesel-powered backup generators go to work. Because of its unique combination of power, performance, reliability and availability, no other technology or fuel can meet the full range of needs in responding to national weather emergencies. Learn more: https://www.dieselforum.org/cities No other energy source provides full-strength backup power within seconds of a failure by the primary electricity grid. That’s why diesel is a silent yet reliable partner in virtually every hospital across the country. Learn more: https://www.dieselforum.org/about-clean-diesel/power-generation

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