PG&E, LG Electronics and Sunverge pilot virtual power plant with consumer batteries
US utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has partnered with distributed energy resources (DER) control firm Sunverge Energy and LG Electronics to implement a virtual power plant (VPP) using consumer energy storage systems for grid reliability in Northern and Central California.
The VPP will be created as part of PG&E’s Battery Storage Pilot Programme which is designed to test the role of storage in diversifying the utility’s energy mix for grid stability and decarbonisation.
Some 100 customers of PG&E will be equipped with LG’s energy storage batteries which will be operated, monitored and optimised using Sunverge Energy’s DER control platform.
Eaton will also provide energy management circuit breakers for the pilot to ensure load control, energy storage and solar PV aggregation.
The project is one of the first in the US to incorporate both load control and PV/energy storage control holistically, according to the statement.
LG Electronics’ ThinQ energy app will enable consumers to view and control onsite solar generation, battery storage and the energy consumption of their home appliances.
Martin Milani, the CEO of Sunverge, said the project will be operational in the first quarter of 2022 and will explore ways in which intelligent and dynamic load control and solar/energy storage can be aggregated as dynamic multi-service and multi-asset VPPs, “creating value on both sides of the meter and helping utilities transition to more resilient and flexible distribution grids.”
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Use cases such as Time of Use energy pricing, load shaping and shifting, demand response, frequency response, voltage support ancillary services and contingency reserve will be explored to understand how they can boost grid resiliency and the energy transition.
DER management
Stephen Hahm, energy vice president at LG Electronics USA, said, “Utilities are increasingly seeing the value that distributed clean energy resources, combined with energy storage and intelligent control and orchestration, can add real value to consumer, communities, grid and the utilities themselves.”
Research firm Guidehouse Insights predicts revenue from hybrid DER management systems and VPP offerings to grow more quickly each year than implementation spending, averaging a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35%.
This is due to utility efforts to address the challenges associated with DERs and renewables assets in grid modernisation and business transformation initiatives, according to Guidehouse Insights.
Such solutions will be critical for a utility like PG&E with plans to expand the deployment of community and distributed microgrids as part of efforts to address the growing threats of climate change including wildfires, drought and hurricanes which continue to disrupt the utility’s services and cause blackouts for consumers.
PG&E secured approval from regulator California Public Utilities Commission to increase community microgrids and integration with its grid.
Commenting on the development, Quinn Nakayama, PG&E’s director of grid planning and innovation, said: “Microgrids are a critical part of the sustainability and climate-resilience goals of many of our customers and hometowns. By expanding the rules around where these microgrids can be built, we’re able to remove barriers that would have prevented projects from moving forward, and instead work collaboratively to make these projects a reality.”
