A new sonnen-led virtual power plant (VPP) is developing in Texas.
Abundance Energy customers can use their sonnenConnect home batteries to support grid stability and lower their own electricity costs. Enabled by SOLRITE’s innovative financing model, participants can install solar panels and sonnen battery systems at no upfront cost, lowering barriers to entry for this VPP program. Optimized through the integration of Energywell Technology’s Proton platform with sonnen’s VPP battery control technology, each battery is continuously managed in response to market price signals, customer usage, and solar generation. Networked together, these batteries create a VPP, dynamically balancing energy supply and demand to maximize value for both the grid and the customer.
“Our mission is to empower homeowners with smarter, more sustainable energy solutions,” said Thomas Mandry, CEO of Abundance Energy.
sonnen’s VPP technology intelligently manages energy supply and demand, ensuring stored solar or grid energy is strategically deployed when needed most.
“Our VPP solutions enable customers to actively participate in the energy market while maintaining resilience in their homes,” said Blake Richetta, Chairman and CEO of sonnen. “With Abundance Energy and Energywell, we’re setting a new standard for residential energy management.”
Energywell’s Proton platform provides advanced forecasting and optimization tools to ensure batteries are dispatched in alignment with market opportunities.
“The Texas energy landscape is evolving, and this partnership exemplifies the future of distributed energy,” said Michael Fallquist, CEO of Energywell. “By optimizing stored energy, we are reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions, building a smarter, cleaner, and more flexible grid.”
News item from sonnen
IMHO Solrite very well represents all that is wrong with residential solar – meaning there are (2) major gotcha’s in the Solrite contract that the door-knocking salespeople clearly aren’t openly disclosing:
(1) the contract requires the customer to stay with a Solrite approved Retail Electric Provider otherwise the customer pays a $3,000/year penalty. Signing up with Solrite effectively ends a TX resident’s ability to choose a competitive electricity rate … for a 25-years (!) This penalty also applies to the new home owner should the original owner sell their house. There is no penalty or any gotcha’s should a customer self-finance and enroll the batteries into a Texas VPP with retailers like NRG, Gexa Energy, Octopus Energy, etc.
(2) if you choose to buy the system outright, Solrite retains ownership of the batteries (= you cannot buy the batteries) and the $3,000/year penalty applies to any owner of the property, even though someone “bought” the system
We need more distributed energy and more distributed power plants; however, limiting homeowner’s retail electricity choices and presumably devaluing their property through essentially a lien disguised as “free batteries” ultimately devalues residential solar and hurts our industry