In this edition of The Weekly, we share a condensed version of a new article by Abby Ross, CEO of The Resiliency Company, on the four convictions underpinning the opportunities in the Adaptation Economy.
Four convictions drive an evolving investment thesis in the adaptation economy: 1) The adaptation economy is large and growing; 2) Resilience makes for more durable investments; 3) Investors see predictable growth and opportunity in the adaptation economy; 4) It’s still early and underserved.
RSG 3-D's non-combustible panel system offers a financially competitive alternative to conventional construction that delivers wildfire, earthquake, and hurricane resilience.
Winter Storm Fern swept across a huge swath of the United States in January 2026, revealing both vulnerabilities and progress on the climate resilience and adaptation front.
Winter Storm Fern swept across a huge swath of the United States last week, stretching from the Mexican border to Canada and triggering emergencies in at least 24 states. The damage toll painted a familiar picture: over 700 ice damage reports, more than 1 million customers without power at peak, and economic loss estimates between $105-$115 billion.
The storm hit hardest where there was an overwhelmed and aging power grid and unwinterized assets: Appalachia saw extended blackouts as poles broke and transmission lines buckled.
But Fern also showed us what works. Texas's grid, the poster child for winter vulnerability after the catastrophic Winter Storm Uri in 2021, held steady. Four years of targeted winterization investments and infrastructure upgrades paid dividends.
An old grid is a vulnerable one. Investments in four key areas can be the difference between failure and resilience during winter storms:
Modernizing grid infrastructure: New “gridtech” (like advanced conductor cables and dynamic line ratings) can prepare the grid in anticipation of a winter storm and fortify it when it hits. Right now, one of the grid’s biggest vulnerabilities is old poles: The Tennessee Valley Authority saw more than two dozen transmission lines collapse during Winter Storm Fern, leaving 300,000 customers in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana without power for days. Fiberglass composite poles are more expensive on the front end, but have better durability and require less upkeep.
Installing more microgrids and battery capacity to reduce grid vulnerability: Municipalities across the country are adopting microgrids to build resiliency into power generation during winter storms (Texas microgrid adoption is up nearly 20x in the past decade). During Winter Storm Fern in Texas, 14 gigawatts of new battery storage capacity augmented energy supply during critical stretches of high heat demand.
Rolling out more renewable energy to reduce fossil-fuel dependence: A fossil-fuel-powered grid is particularly vulnerable during cold temperatures and winter storms. The fossil fuel fleet of PJM, the largest U.S. grid operator, struggled badly during Fern: Gas and coal plants experienced over 20 gigawatts of unplanned outages on Sunday, January 25th, around 16% of total demand on the grid at the time. Meanwhile, wind generation outperformed expectations, with nearly nine gigawatts higher output than expected over Jan 24th and 25th.
Winterizing the grid: There are specific ways to keep the grid warm, like insulating critical components, building permanent or temporary windbreaks around equipment, or using temporary heat systems on localized freezing problems. Texas's post-Uri weatherization investments—like insulating pipes, protecting control systems from ice, weatherproofing important systems, and instituting more inspections—kept its generation plants online throughout Fern, avoiding the rolling blackouts of 2021.
An economic analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that winterizing the grid is a worthwhile investment compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars of damage from a storm like Uri. Fern proved the point again: When wooden poles installed decades ago still carry our electricity the same way Samuel Morse strung telegraph wires in 1843, the bill for underinvestment will come due.
But when we invest in resilient infrastructure, like upgraded poles, weatherized equipment, and distributed generation, that infrastructure will pay dividends through every winter storm that follows.
Read more about making the grid more resilient for major winter storms in The Epicenter’s Winter Storm Briefing here.
Read more about insurance on The Epicenter here.
Read more about resilient public infrastructure and government solutions on The Epicenter here.
Read more about resilient real estate on The Epicenter here.
245 gigawatts
In the next ten years, winter peak energy demand is expected to grow by 245 gigawatts (enough energy to power 180+ million homes for a year) in the US and Canada, increasing grid stress during extreme cold events.
Source: Reuters.
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The Epicenter helps decision makers understand climate risks and discover viable resilience solutions. The Epicenter is an affiliated publication of The Resiliency Company, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering humanity to adapt to the accelerating challenges of the next 100+ years.
The absence of references to climate change in utilities' bond disclosures suggests we have not systematically assessed how climate hazards could disrupt operations or revenues and, just as concerning, that they aren’t incorporating climate risk into capital planning and investment decisions.
Unexpected disasters are causing damage in unlikely places, forcing decision-makers in the public and private sectors to prepare for the most common disasters in their region as well as the rare, once-in-a-hundred-year ones. But strategies exist to help decision-makers prepare for the unexpected.
There are no silver bullet solutions for the private sector to adopt to dramatically reduce the costs of winter storms. The biggest lever to bring costs down exists in modernizing and winterizing the grid—an endeavor that will require substantial technological, mechanical, and financial investments.
Extreme weather events wreak havoc on grids not designed to endure their frequency and intensity, but there are solutions to build resiliency. 1. Modernize grid infrastructure; 2. Install more microgrids; 3. Roll out more renewable energy to reduce fossil-fuel dependence.
