Why would anyone want to create a? Because grid-scale battery storage is expensive. If there is a way to get residential storage batteries to multitask by providing backup power to a home or small business and help power the grid as needed, that would be a beautiful thing. It saves utility companies money and it also pays the owners of those batteries to let their batteries be tapped for grid duty. It is the proverbial win-win situation where everyone is happy.
The Tesla virtual power plant program has grown to include more than 4,500 customers. In total, it can supply up to 33 MW of electricity to meet a grid emergency, as happened on the evening of Getting lots of homes and businesses to enlist in grid balancing programs could be one of the most cost effective ways for California to meet its clean energy and grid reliability goals,finds that smart investments in technologies and efficiency on the customer’s side of the meter could reduce energy use enough during the state’s summer evening peaks to eliminate the need for billions of dollars of batteries and other utility scale resources.
Questions for Sunrun 1. Will customers with V2G systems for their electric cars be able to participate in VPP programs? 2. Who supplies the Sunrun residential storage batteries?