Enphase Energy is to expand its support for virtual power plants (VPPs) in Colorado, Puerto Rico and Nova Scotia.
Enphase said program participants may receive a discount on the purchase of an Enphase Energy System with its IQ Batteries, or incentives may include ongoing payments to participating homeowners.
VPPs are aggregations of small-scale distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar with behind-the-meter batteries, energy storage and EV chargers. VPPs can balance electricity demand, and supply-and-demand utility-scale and utility-grade grid services. VPP technology has shown immediate promise in replacing natural gas “peaker plants” on grids, offering additional capacity during times of peak electricity demand.
The performance incentive rates are locked in until each program’s funding runs out. Enphase previously closed its incentive programs in Arizona and Hawaii.
LUMA Energy Puerto Rico Customer Battery Energy Sharing Program
Puerto Rican residents enrolled in this program with three IQ Battery 5Ps receive $1.00 for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power delivered during LUMA Energy’s battery demand response events.
This program provides its participants quarterly performance incentives directly from Virtual Peaker, Enphase’s aggregator for the program, which are based on the total energy the participant delivers during LUMA Energy’s demand response events each quarter. The performance incentive rates are locked in place until the program funding runs out.
According to Enphase, participants should receive between 75 and 100 demand response events a year, which should average about two hours each.
Attend the upcoming homeowner informational webinar (in Spanish).
Xcel Colorado Renewable Battery Connect Program
The Colorado program is open to Xcel Energy customers who have an Enphase IQ Battery. The program provides an upfront incentive of $350 per kW, with a $5,000 cap per site.
Xcel Energy customers are not prevented from receiving VPP incentives if they do not have an Enphase IQ Battery, however. SolarEdge also offers a VPP incentive program to Xcel Energy customers in Colorado who own Solar Edge’s home battery system.
Efficiency Nova Scotia Eco Shift Pilot
This pilot awards participants $500 upfront, plus an average performance incentive of $300 per kW.
Enphase said participants who have a typical 15 kWh Enphase IQ Battery system that consists of three IQ Battery 5Ps are eligible to receive up to $1,500 per year in performance incentives if the batteries deliver up to 80% of their energy capacity during each demand response event.
Learn more about the details of the program on the Eco Shift Nova Scotia program website.
Enphase pushes IQ line as VPPs expand in the U.S.
Enphase’s VPP expansion helps contribute to the overall required VPP capacity in the U.S.
While VPP capacity has made progress in recent years, currently between 30 GW to 60 GW, its deployment needs to accelerate to reach between 80 GW and 160 GW, the Department of Energy (DOE) said in a report last month. By increasing VPP capacity to this level, the DOE said the U.S. could save about $10 billion per year in grid costs and redirect spending on peaking power plants to distributed energy resources.
(Read: “After liftoff, DOE looks to accelerate virtual power plants”)
Enphase recently reported a 42% drop in its annual revenue. However, the company said it delivered “strong” U.S. manufacturing results in the final quarter of 2024, shipping 1.69 million microinverters and 6.7 MWh of IQ Batteries. During Q4, Enphase introduced new products including the IQ Meter Collar, fourth-generation IQ Battery, and new IQ Combiner products. The company launched the IQ PowerPack 1500, a 1.5 kWh smart, portable energy system for home, work, and on-the-go use.
Enphase said it expects revenue to be within a range of $340 million to $380 million this quarter, which includes shipments of 150 MWh to 170 MWh of IQ Batteries and 1.2 million microinverters.
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