SunPower has partnered with OhmConnect to provide its prospects the chance to take part in digital energy plant (VPP) packages.
Householders in choose California markets with the mySunPower app can take part and earn rewards for managing their electrical energy use, particularly throughout peak grid demand, when utility payments is the very best. The service helps stability the facility grid whereas providing photo voltaic and vitality storage prospects the chance to get worth from their system.
SunVault battery house owners can handle their saved electrical energy utilizing OhmConnect, which tracks costs and demand in actual time, serving to prospects cut back vitality use throughout peak instances. The SunVault system is ready to robotically ship energy from the house owner’s battery throughout peak demand to the grid, whereas retaining a certain quantity of vitality to fulfill their dwelling’s vitality wants.
“With the event of digital energy crops, it is even simpler for residential prospects to get rewarded for serving to us make the grid extra resilient. With our partnership with SunPower, OhmConnect will broaden the ecosystem of properties that may use the vitality they generate to assist strengthen the more and more fragile grid,” mentioned Cisco Devries, OhmConnect’s CEO.
The mySunPower app sends real-time push notifications earlier than, throughout, and after battery utilization, with the choice to opt-out or regulate the battery backup degree at any level . Householders can handle their VPP exercise, observe battery reserves, discharge historical past, and earnings utilizing the app.
“The businesses plan to broaden into different markets this summer season,” mentioned Ellen Kinney, vp of digital at SunPower. “VPPs are poised to go mainstream as battery storage turns into extra accessible, vitality costs proceed to rise, and the grid continues to be overtaxed by fires, warmth, and even rain.”
OhmConnect is a free service out there to residential prospects of Pacific Gasoline & Electrical (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gasoline & Electrical (SDG&E) utilities. California residents can join via the mySunPower app, out there for obtain on the Apple App Retailer or Google Play.
The US Division of Vitality’s Mortgage Packages Workplace (LPO) is specializing in VPPs as a result of the supply of debt financing for unfamiliar applied sciences has develop into a bottleneck for adoption. In keeping with Jigar Shah, Director of the US Division of Vitality Mortgage Packages Workplace,
“A VPP is a digital integration of distributed vitality assets (DERs) resembling PV, vitality storage, EV chargers, and demand response gadgets (resembling heaters of water, thermostat, and home equipment),” says Shah. “VPPs do greater than present decarbonization and grid providers – they supply grid operators with a large-scale and utility-grade various to new era and system constructing via automated effectivity, capability help, and non-wire options.”
Just lately, the LPO offered a $3 billion conditional mortgage for Sunnova to supply loans to low- to moderate-income prospects nationwide for VPP providers.
“By deploying grid belongings extra effectively, an aggregation of distributed assets lowers the price of energy for everybody, particularly VPP contributors,” Shah mentioned. .