Sunrun and PG&E partner on residential PV and battery storage-powered 30MW VPP in California

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Residential solar and battery installer Sunrun has partnered with California utility PG&E to create a new virtual power plant (VPP) combining up to 30MW of new and existing home PV and battery systems for grid reliability.

Sunrun will enrol up to 7,500 new and existing home PV and battery energy storage systems in PG&E’s service area into the Energy Efficiency Summer Reliability Program. The VPP will be able to dispatch 30MW to the grid to lower the cost of power during peak demand periods and reduce grid strain.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The VPP was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on 30 January 2023.

The two have partnered to create an optimal battery dispatch schedule to achieve this, Sunrun said. The enrolled battery systems will be directed to discharge every day between 7pm and 9pm. This is the period when solar generation starts to substantially dip but demand for air conditioning remains high as high temperatures continue well into the evening.

In exchange, customers will receive an upfront payment of US$750 and a free smart thermostat for participating. Sunrun added that the battery systems enrolled will retain enough energy to meet essential needs in the event of a grid outage.

All Sunrun solar and battery storage customers in single-family homes with a PG&E interconnection agreement that are not enrolled in other demand response programmes are eligible to participate. Sunrun will receive incremental revenue for managing and delivering VPP services to the grid for one year, and has the chance to extend the partnership thereafter.

Although not mentioned in the press release announcing the VPP, Sunrun last week revealed that new company Lunar Energy is using its software platform to manage the company’s VPP programmes in the US.

Click the following links to read all previous Energy-Storage.news coverage of Sunrun, VPPs and the California energy storage market.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 28-29 March 2023 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

11 November 2025
San Diego, USA
The 2024 Summit included innovative new features including a ‘Crash Course in Battery Asset Management’, Ask-Me-Anything formats and debate-style sessions. You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

Sponsored
May 1, 2025
Alper Peker and Dominic Multerer of Camopo explain how flexibility is the key to long-term profitability for hybrid renewables-plus-storage power plants.
May 1, 2025
Yarra Energy Foundation has secured funding to install three new community batteries in and around Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
May 1, 2025
AEMO has revealed that, as of March 2025, the pipeline of new standalone BESS in the NEM has increased by 86% year-on-year (YoY).
April 30, 2025
NYSERDA has launched a programme to incentivise residential and retail energy storage in the state, offering a total of US$775 million for energy storage projects.
Premium
April 30, 2025
Leading BESS owner-operators in the UK have signalled their opposition to the government’s cap and floor support scheme for long-duration energy storage (LDES) in an open letter. We spoke to one its signatories James Basden, founder of Zenobē, about why.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter