Sunrun, the US’ leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, has recently communicated that its growing portfolio of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) has successfully supported power grids across the country in 2024 – with a combined instantaneous peak of nearly 80 megawatts – a capacity greater than many traditional fossil-fuel power plants. These innovative programs leveraged Sunrun’s fleet of residential solar and battery systems – the largest in America – empowering customers to generate, store, and share their own solar energy.
In 2024, more than 20,000 Sunrun customers participated in 16 virtual power plant programs across nine states and territories. From California and Texas to Puerto Rico and New England, the customers’ batteries supplied on-demand, stored solar energy to augment power resources during hundreds of critical energy events.
Describing the present status quo, Sunrun CEO Mary Powell, said, “Utilities are at a point where they can’t grow fast enough for the increased demand for electricity, which is why they are coming to Sunrun for help. Our power plant portfolio is at an inflection point because we have the resources and expertise to quickly develop, deploy, and scale programs to provide smart, controllable load. Combining solar with storage not only provides American families with energy independence and peace of mind, but also the ability to support the grid when it’s needed most.”
Extreme weather events and soaring electricity demand underscore the importance for these power plant programs.
