Thursday, November 24, 2011

Allianz joins SwissRe and Zurich in saying severe Space Weather could mean "lights out" for weeks on your watch -- tsk tsk.

---

Do you think your company's power supply is reliable and uninterruptible because you have a back-up generator and a few days' supply of diesel fuel on hand?  Guess again.  Read the news from Allianz further below and take action.

As a concrete example, we recently met with the head of operations of a major data center company in the U.S. and he proudly declared that their HQs had a back-up generator and 72 hours' supply of fuel, and that each of their data centers had 24 hours of fuel.

Woohoo !!

But of course, power outages from just "normal" natural events such as earthquakes and hurricanes can routinely last 1 - 2 WEEKS.

Sadly, power outages from space weather events (solar flares, coronal mass ejections, etc.) could last weeks or MONTHS.  Yes, MONTHS.  Possibly years in extreme cases.

Was this data-center head of ops well prepared ?  No, he was foolish and arrogant combined.

A liter of diesel fuel for your thoughts... ?

Now, to the news:


"Solar Storms May Cause Large-Scale Power Outages, Allianz Says"

Bloomberg --- 23 Nov 2011


"Solar storms may cause large-scale power outages in 2012 to 2013, according to Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer.

“Particularly in the northern hemisphere, space weather events could severely damage high-voltage transformers whose repair can take days or even weeks,” the company said in a report today.

"Increased use of renewable energy also threatens power-network stability, according to the report. ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-23/solar-storms-may-cause-large-scale-power-outages-allianz-says.html

---

See also:

http://www.agcs.allianz.com/about-us/news/companies-in-europe-and-the-us-underestimate-power-blackout-risk/

---

http://www.agcs.allianz.com/insights/white-papers-and-case-studies/

---

http://www.agcs.allianz.com/insights/white-papers-and-case-studies/power-blackout-risks/

---

Posted 24 Nov 2011 (Thanksgiving Day) by:

David A. Palella
Founder
EMP DEFENSE COUNCIL(sm)
[ Electro-Magnetic Pulse Defense Council(sm) ]

San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com

http://EMP411.blogspot.com


EMP Defense Council -- Preparing for Electro-Magnetic Pulse

http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3702799/


(1) Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Defense Council(C) Founded in San Diego, California on Pearl Harbor Day

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=695425


(2) The EMP Defense Council(C) Announces the Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) Priority Hardening List Ranked by Industry Vulnerability, and Proposes a Markets-Based Approach to Addressing Solar or Nuclear EMP Events

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=708639


(3) EMP Defense Council(SM) Highlights Calculable Risks of Solar Cycle Peak in 2013

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=784096


---------