Sunrun now operates a vehicle-to-home power plant using a small group of two-way electric vehicles from customers in Maryland.
The program includes three Sunrun customers in the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) service area who own an F-150 Lightning paired with Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, sold exclusively through Sunrun. This program is the first operational bidirectional electric vehicle power plant in the United States using a cohort of customer vehicles.
“This exciting partnership lays the foundation for the electric grid of the future, where electric vehicle owners can contribute to grid resilience and energy price stability for all,” said Mary Powell, CEO of Sunrun. “The summer heat can be particularly stressful for our power grid. That is why it is so important to prove the use of stored energy in electric vehicles for capacity.”
BGE received a grant from the Ministry of Energy to create a virtual power plant for electric vehicles. BGE worked with Sunrun to develop and manage the program, which is designed to support BGE’s system during times of peak energy use. By discharging the onboard batteries of the F-150 Lightnings directly to participants’ homes, the program demonstrates how electric vehicles can function as stationary batteries to reduce demand on the electric grid and create a more resilient and reliable energy system for all BGE customers in Maryland.
Sunrun will network and monitor the enrolled F-150 Lightning trucks as they share stored energy during shipment windows from June 1 to September 30, 2024, between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM on weekdays. All funding will flow to enrolled customers, who will receive a payment based on the amount of energy shared – estimated at $800 over the four months of the program.
“We know that the energy stored in electric vehicles will be essential in our state’s efforts to achieve its bold net-zero emissions goals,” said Mark Case, vice president of Regulatory Policy and Strategy at BGE. “By working with Sunrun, BGE can unlock the potential of how vehicle-to-grid programs will support increasing grid efficiency and reliability with distributed energy resources, while delivering a valuable new benefit to customers.”
In addition to demonstrating the vehicle-to-home capabilities, the program’s objectives also include learning the behavior and preferences of electric vehicle owners. Based on the insights gained, Sunrun and BGE plan to explore expanding the program, offering incentives for existing F-150 Lightning owners to adopt bi-directional charging and developing direct, vehicle-to-grid capabilities, so that energy from electric vehicles can be shared within a community. .
“BGE and Ford have been great partners. This program combines the strengths of each organization for the benefit of all taxpayers – that’s the beauty of this joint partnership,” said Chris Rauscher, Sunrun’s Head of Grid Services. “Virtual power plants with bi-directional electric vehicles will play a key role in the clean energy transition. We look forward to scaling these innovative programs with BGE and other utilities across the country.”
News item from Sunrun
