Sunrun Stands Ready to Support the Nation’s Stressed Energy Grid with More Than 150 Megawatts of Dispatchable Power Ready for Action
Local solar and batteries have already made blackouts across the U.S. less severe
SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services provider, today announced that it is standing by, ready to support the nation’s energy grid by dispatching the company’s installed battery capacity of more than 150 megawatts (MW), which can help reduce the severity of grid shortages and blackouts across the United States. 150+ MW is enough energy capacity to displace multiple fossil fuel-burning peaker plants, saving ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars in avoided construction, maintenance and fossil fuel costs.
This summer, Regional Transmission Operators (RTOs) including the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), California Independent System Operator (CAISO), and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have issued warnings to energy customers in anticipation of grid capacity shortages for the rest of the summer. ERCOT has already issued two warnings and asked people to conserve power.
“Our solar and battery systems are able to provide a critical service by discharging electricity to the grid during the times it’s most needed,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “As more severe and frequent heatwaves continue to stress our nation’s grid this summer, we strongly encourage grid operators, utilities and policy makers alike to leverage this amazing source of solar energy. Not only do our solar customers take load off the grid, our batteries export during times of peak demand, which reduces the overall stress on the grid.”
There is growing momentum across the country to utilize home batteries as regulators and utilities recognize the ability of residential solar and battery storage systems to provide clean energy and resilience to the broader electric system, reduce power plant pollution, and save money for all ratepayers. Already, Sunrun customers are providing grid resilience and support in 12 home battery programs across California, Hawaii, New York, Massachusetts, and other states in the Northeast, but these programs combine to access only a small fraction of Sunrun’s total storage capacity.
In August of 2020, during California’s first rolling blackouts since 2001, distributed solar and batteries from across the industry, including Sunrun customers, provided more than 300 MW of power to the electricity grid, the same amount of energy as a gas-fired power plant, making the blackouts less severe. In a joint letter from California regulators, Sunrun was thanked for changing battery charging patterns so that “they are maximizing effectiveness between 4 and 9pm.”
According to the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA), California has more than 90,000 distributed batteries on the grid with an aggregate capacity of 900 MW, approximately the same size as the Redondo Beach gas-fired power plant. California consumers are adding 100 MW of sun-charged batteries every five months.
Sunrun applauds the deliberate action states are taking to create pathways to leverage distributed energy resources and calls on other states across the nation to create programs to put these resources that have already been built to work for the greater grid and greater good.
About Sunrun
Sunrun Inc. (Nasdaq: RUN) is the nation’s leading home solar, battery storage, and energy services company. Founded in 2007, Sunrun pioneered home solar service plans to make local clean energy more accessible to everyone for little to no upfront cost. Sunrun’s innovative home battery solutions bring families affordable, resilient, and reliable energy. The company can also manage and share stored solar energy from the batteries to provide benefits to households, utilities, and the electric grid while reducing our reliance on polluting energy sources. For more information, please visit www.sunrun.com.
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Released July 21, 2022