WHAT TOMORROW’S ELECTRICITY GENERATING PLANT LOOKS LIKE

On 22 June, electric car maker Tesla invited 25,000 California households that have installed its Powerwall home electricity storage device to become part of the world’s largest virtual power plant—in effect, a distributed battery.

Powerwalls are batteries that store energy generated by solar panels.

Tesla’s effort is part of the Emergency Load Reduction Program established by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., California’s largest utility.  

When electricity demand is high—at midafternoon in July, for example—an automated management system will snap into action.

First, the utility will send out a notice to participants when power is needed. Those who opt in will be paid $2 for every net kilowatt-hour of power they send into the grid. 

Those who take part can use the same app on their phones to set a time to recharge their battery when the emergency has passed, usually in the middle of the night or on weekends when offices are typically closed.

In the two weeks since Tesla asked for volunteers, 1,500 households signed up and another 1,500 expressed interest.

The program mimics a smaller pilot version begun in Vermont in 2021.

TRENDPOST: Instead of spending billions to build a new, centralized generating station, the utility is tapping an electricity infrastructure that will define the future. 

The utility and its customers save money, no land is sacrificed for a generating plant that will burn pricey fossil fuels, air stays cleaner, and Powerwall owners make a little money on their investment.

With one of the country’s largest utilities adopting the strategy in partnership with the premier maker of home power storage, other utilities will unveil similar programs over the next two years.