Solar-plus-storage VPPs must be ‘indistinguishable’ from peakers to win over grid operators, says EnergyHub
A EnergyHub report lays out what it will take for dispatchers to treat VPPs like conventional power plants.
Texas electric utility co-op taps networked residential batteries for outage protection
The residential battery program, which deploys Base Power’s 11.4 kW/25 kWh battery systems, is designed to provide affordable, whole-home backup for members of Farmers Electric Cooperative while also delivering grid-balancing services to the wider region.
Sunrun VPP enrollment jumps 400% as battery storage attachment hits 70%
As storage attachment rates hit 70% for new customers, Sunrun’s fleet of networked residential batteries expands rapidly, now featuring over 106,000 homes participating in VPP grid services.
Illinois to add 3 GW of batteries, saving consumers $12 billion over 20 years
Illinois is set to issue procurements for 3 GW of battery storage, under a bill expected to be signed by Governor JB Pritzker. Transmission improvements to speed renewable deployment are also in the works.
Newsom vetoes another bill to curb California’s rising energy demand
Gov. Newsom said the virtual power plant bill would not have improved electric grid reliability planning because it did “not align with the California Public Utility Commission’s Resource Adequacy framework.”
Newsom strikes down bill to help reduce electric demand despite unanimous approval
Gov. Newsom said the bill would not have improved electric grid reliability planning because it did “not align with the California Public Utility Commission’s Resource Adequacy framework.”
VPP deployments jump 33%, but capacity growth more modest, Wood Mackenzie says
Virtual power plant (VPP) capacity grew a modest 13.7%, while company deployments, unique offtakers and monetized programs each grew over 33% from the previous year, Wood Mackenzie’s annual VPP report found.
State solar policy on the frontlines
For a couple months every two years, every state’s legislative session align, and this year, energy policy dominated many states’ sessions. In regulated energy markets, advocacy groups crusaded against utilities that were relentless to not lose any of their monopoly share to clean energy.
California’s home batteries are replacing gas plants and saving hundreds of millions
The Brattle Group analyzed a gigawatt-hour virtual power plant test that may be the world’s largest as part of its review of California’s distributed peak-shaving program.
California cuts funding for nation’s largest virtual power plant
With California facing a $12 billion budget shortfall, the state’s lawmakers opted not only against a boost in funding for its flagship virtual power plant program as initially planned, but to not renew its funding all together.
