FranklinWH to participate in Michigan residential solar and battery program
Battery system manufacturer FranklinWH will take part in a new pilot city-owned solar and battery pilot program initiative.
Installations for the pilot program began the week of April 27, the company says, and aim to test a new model for electrical grid reliability and utility affordability. The program will be led by the Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility (A2SEU).
“Ann Arbor is showing how cities can play a leading role in advancing local energy solutions,” says Gary Lam, CEO and cofounder of FranklinWH. “By bringing solar and battery storage together through a city-led program, residents can lower utility costs, improve reliability, and help ease pressure on the grid during peak demand. It reflects how cities and utilities are increasingly using local programs to improve reliability and manage energy demand.”
Touted as the first of its kind, the city-owned opt-in program is available to residents in the Bryant neighborhood of Ann Arbor. The company says that many households in that area are “energy-burdened,” with some families spending more than one third of their monthly income on utility bills.
Pairing rooftop solar with battery storage from FranklinWH would allow the program to reduce electrical costs, the firm says. Additionally, the pilot program is expected to improve energy resilience in the area, both at the household and community level.
Adding to FranklinWH’s program ranks
FranklinWH currently participates in over 20 utility-led virtual power plant programs like this one, and the Ann Arbor project extends that model into a city-owned space, the company says.
Ann Arbor’s voters approved the program — and the creation of the Sustainable Energy Utility — during the November 2024 election season. Now, the community-owner utility acts as “an optional, supplemental energy provider” while also delivering 100% locally generated renewable energy to the nearby area.
Under the terms of the new program, the FranklinWH System will be paired with rooftop solar installations from three separate solar firms. The EMS and storage device will also feature Texture’s distributed energy management software, which will then aggregate the systems in a “coordinated, utility-scale resource” for Ann Arbor, according to the company.
“In our evaluation, FranklinWH stood out for both technical performance and customer experience,” said Shoshannah Lenski, executive director of A2SEU. “Paired with local solar generation, these systems will help us deliver more reliable, resilient energy across our community.”
As part of the program, about 150 Ann Arbor homes will receive FranklinWH battery systems, including its aPower S battery. Later down the line in 2027, the project is expected to expand to 1,000 homes, with further upscaling planned for future years.
