A distributed Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is a network of many small energy devices such as solar PV, battery storage, smart thermostats, water heaters and other smart technologies that can be centrally controlled to provide the capabilities of a traditional power plant and more. How can so many disparate devices take the shape of a power plant? The answer is simpler than it may seem, and the solution has added benefits for homeowners and the community.
Let’s first consider the benefits of a homeowner’s solar and battery storage system. When your solar panels generate renewable power from the sun each day, any electricity not used at the time of production can be stored by your batteries and saved for later - often during the evening hours when the cost of energy from the utility is most expensive. Your solar and battery storage system is very much like a mini power plant, providing self generated power when and where you need it. Kudos to you, your power plant can save you money and does not emit harmful pollutants like fossil fuel power plants. Better yet, during power outages your home energy system regenerates its own electricity day in and day out with the rising of the sun.
Your smart home energy system becomes even smarter when connected to a VPP. Programming your home battery to deploy energy when it's most valuable is straightforward enough, and when enough home energy systems are orchestrated to be in sync with one another it provides considerably more value to the electric system as a whole. In some places utilities are seeking to tap into these resources and pay customers for their participation.. This is where aggregation companies like Swell Energy can help homeowners and the utility with advanced software solutions that manage your battery behind the scenes to maximize the potential of your smart home energy system without compromising the many benefits the system is already providing to you. Additionally, Swell Energy passes utility payments back to customers enrolled in VPPs in the form of GridRevenue.
By orchestrating thousands of distributed energy resources like residential solar and energy storage systems, with VPPs and smart aggregation software we can now all play a part in reducing grid stress, help curb the need for new fossil based energy infrastructure, and we can even help take aging peaker plants offline. These clean energy solutions improve power reliability, can reduce outages, and enable cleaner air in your community through decreased reliance on fossil fuel power generation. When participating in a VPP you can be compensated for enabling your home batteries to charge and absorb excess renewable energy from the grid when the sun is shining, discharge power to your home or the power grid when most valuable, and support transmission stability in real time during grid frequency disruptions.
When participating in a VPP Swell Energy will always reserve 20% of the energy in your batteries to ensure that you have backup power in the event of an unexpected outage. During a power outage, regardless of the duration, you have complete control over your home energy system and access to all the power you generate from solar and store in your battery. This hassle free power management is just one of the many benefits of enrolling in Swell VPPs.
By enrolling your energy storage system into a Swell VPP, you can ride the Swell wave and help transition to a renewables based economy. Our customers enjoy the powerful benefits of reliable self-generated power, resilience in the face of climate change, potential bill savings, exciting incentives and last but not the least, community empowerment toward clean energy and power independence!