| Resource Type | Tool fact sheet |
| Author / Source | Idaho National Laboratory (INL) |
| Publication Date | December 2025 |
| Location | United States |
| Initiative Type | Technology |
| Project Complexity | Advanced |
| Recommended For | Board, Staff |
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Why This Matters for Rural Electric Co-ops
Co-ops plan and finance infrastructure over decades, but the extreme-weather risks those assets face are shifting, which makes long-term risk visibility valuable. ACCLIMATE, developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), projects how climate hazards will change in a utility's territory over time, scores which specific assets and components are likely to fail, and estimates the financial loss so leaders can direct resilience spending toward where future risk is highest. For a co-op, this supports a shift from reactive storm response toward forward-looking, data-driven resilience and capital planning.
ACCLIMATE is one component of INL's Resilience Guard, a suite that also bundles the Storm-DEPART damage-prediction tool and a basic asset inventory. Co-ops are eligible to request it at no cost through CSDET's technical assistance pathway.
Key Takeaways
| › | ACCLIMATE projects how extreme-weather hazards will change over time in a utility's area and scores which assets and components are most likely to fail. |
| › | It pairs an asset-level Hardware Bill of Materials and fragility curves with powerflow modeling to estimate physical damage, monetary loss, and cross-infrastructure impacts. |
| › | Outputs connect long-term climate projections to specific asset decisions, giving co-ops a way to prioritize resilience investments by where future risk is highest. |
Implementation Considerations
- Regulatory or Governance Considerations: A co-op requests the tool through CSDET's technical assistance pathway, a request-and-approval process that connects it with CSDET experts rather than a commercial vendor.
- Staffing or Technology Requirements: The tool runs on component-level asset data and needs staff able to interpret climate-risk output. Because Resilience Guard bundles a basic asset inventory, a co-op with thin records has a starting point, and richer local data sharpens the results.
- Time-Sensitive Information: ACCLIMATE is federally funded and now delivered under DOE's Office of Electricity. Federal program homes have shifted, so program details can change. Confirm current availability with INL before relying on it.
Notable Examples
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL): Developed ACCLIMATE and delivers it within its Resilience Guard suite.
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
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