SolarEdge Technologies and grid operator Rocky Mountain Power have announced the qualification of the SolarEdge Home Battery to participate in Rocky Mountain Power’s award-winning Wattsmart Battery program.
This marks an important next step in Rocky Mountain Power’s efforts to harness customer-generated solar power along with battery technology in the homes of more than 60,000 existing rooftop solar customers in Utah and Idaho. The addition of SolarEdge will improve grid stability, allow greater use of renewables and keep costs among the lowest in the country.
Launched in 2021, the Wattsmart Battery program uses a growing fleet of residential batteries to help manage the electrical system during peak periods.
The pioneering program currently has more than 3,000 batteries in Utah and Idaho. The partnership with SolarEdge allows Rocky Mountain Power to take advantage of the rapid response and precise cloud control of SolarEdge smart inverters and distributed batteries to balance the grid in real time while building the grid of the future.
“Wattsmart is an innovative program, but what really sets it apart from other VPPs is the speed of implementation. While typical demand-response programs operate on a day-ahead basis, the Wattsmart program is designed to respond on-demand with near-instantaneous response to unscheduled network events,” said Peter Mathews, general manager of SolarEdge North America. The more flexibility and speed battery assets can provide, the more valuable they are to grid operators – both as emergency and frequency reserve. As we move towards a net-zero economy, this level of optimization will become the standard for VPP models, enabling grid operators like Rocky Mountain Power to build a resilient and flexible distributed energy grid of the future.”
Homeowners who participate in the Wattsmart Battery Program with the DC-Coupled SolarEdge Home Battery will benefit from increased efficiency with the ability to directly store DC power from the sun, reducing energy conversions and reducing energy loss.
“When a customer joins the program, they partner with Rocky Mountain Power to innovate for the future and be part of a sustainable energy grid solution,” said Bill Comeau, Rocky Mountain Power VP of customer experience and innovation. “The SolarEdge Home Battery, along with its advanced network connectivity capabilities, will help us advance that effort.”
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