Utilities work with Sunrun on solar energy storage systems

Sunrun, a leading home solar and battery storage company, is working on solar energy storage projects with both Orange & Rockland (O&R) Utilities and Southern California Energy (SCE).

O&R recently got approval to deploy rooftop solar and battery systems as part of a virtual power plant project in support of New York State’s transition to clean energy. Sunrun will bundle rooftop solar energy stored in more than 300 Brightbox battery systems and deliver it to the electricity grid when needed by O&R. The energy produced from rooftop solar panels is stored in Sunrun’s Brightbox battery throughout the day. If there is an outage, Brightbox provides backup electricity to the customer’s home and enables them to power through the night until the following morning when the sun rises and recharges the battery. Customers can back up everything from their entire home to simply essential appliances, depending on the type of battery they choose.

The plan was approved by O&R and Sunrun’s implementation plan was accepted by the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) last Friday. In effect, Sunrun will form a virtual power plant to partially offset demand on O&R’s electricity grid in key areas for residents in Orange and Rockland counties. In addition, O&R customers will get clean energy provided by Sunrun’s home rooftop solar and Brightbox battery storage systems at a discounted rate.

“This initiative will help our customers to incorporate new technologies and assist in maintaining efficient, resilient, reliable and sustainable electric operations,” O&R Vice President of Operations Francis Peverly said,

These types of virtual power plants are growing in popularity as utilities, and grid operators recognize the value of residential solar and battery storage.

“New Yorkers know all too well the importance of resilient and reliable electricity. Through our initiative with O&R, we are excited to bring the benefits of Brightbox home solar and batteries to more New Yorkers while helping build a cleaner, more resilient electricity system,” Lynn Jurich, Sunrun co-founder and CEO said

Southern California Edison is also working with Sunrun on a similar project in their area. SCE will have up to 300 SCE and Sunrun Brightboxes to support the grid.

“California is leading the way to 100% clean energy for all. We’re excited to work with SCE to bring the benefits of Brightbox rechargeable solar batteries to more Californians through this innovative partnership,” Jurich said.

Similar to O&R, the Sunrun virtual power plant will use energy stored in the batteries for the grid when needed.

“For California to meet its carbon neutrality goal by 2045, we estimate that 40 gigawatts of energy storage will need to be added to the grid, including 10 GW from hundreds of thousands of residential customers in the future- Opens in new window,” Jill Anderson, SCE senior vice president of Customer Service, said. “The clean energy from these home energy systems will benefit all of our customers.”

In April 2015, 116 SCE customers had solar plus energy storage systems. Currently, more than 7,900 customers have solar plus energy systems. Specifically, 1,700 of those installations were in the first few months of the year.