New York grid helped by over 300 solar + storage homes, connected by Sunrun
New York’s largest residential power plant helped stabilize the electric grid during dozens of peak electricity demand events this summer.
The Sunrun-managed virtual power plant (VPP) includes more than 300 home solar + storage systems and was initiated by O&R and approved as a demonstration project by the New York State Public Service Commission. The year-round program supports New York’s transition to renewable energy.
Under this program, Sunrun synchronizes the discharging of the participating batteries to deliver stored solar power to reduce stress on the electric grid during times of peak energy usage. The solar + storage systems also provide a source of backup power to the homes of participating customers.
“This is an important step toward the future of fortifying New York’s energy grid, utilizing innovation to build a more affordable and reliable way to deliver power. We are excited to see residents of New York benefit from the sharing of stored solar power and know this partnership with Orange and Rockland will show the path forward for the rest of the state,” said CEO of Sunrun, Mary Powell.
With more than 1 million customers and 116,000 installed storage systems, Sunrun is the nation’s largest developer of residential clean energy systems.
“The creation of this virtual power plant unlocks incredible benefits to the electric grid that will provide our customers with the clean and reliable energy that they expect and deserve,” said Andre Wellington, O&R director of Distributed Resource Integration. “Home solar-plus-storage is an innovative, flexible resource that can be called upon during times of stress on our electric system and O&R is happy to be part of this opportunity to advance New York State’s clean energy goals.”
New York VPP details
Enrolled customers received a free or heavily discounted home battery in exchange for participating in the 10-year program to help the resiliency of the electric grid. Sunrun receives an upfront payment from O&R based on the battery capacity installed, which allows Sunrun to offer the battery for free or at a heavily discounted price to customers.
Customers will also benefit from consuming their own stored solar power and from utility bill credits for the excess energy they supply to the electric grid.
Even when O&R dispatches the batteries for load relief, customers’ batteries will still retain 20% or more of the stored solar power to provide their homes with backup power in the event of a local power outage.
“We quickly signed up once we learned that a Sunrun solar and battery system could protect our home from outages while also bolstering the grid for our community,” said Joseph Ortiz, a Sunrun and O&R customer in Rockland County. “It’s gratifying to know that—without us even lifting a finger—our home is supplying clean solar energy back to the grid to benefit everyone.”
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