Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources, GHG Emissions, Utilities  -  December 23, 2022

SMUD Launches Residential Renewable Energy Management

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is using an aggregator for its residential virtual power plant initiative.

SMUD and Swell Energy announced an agreement for Swell to act as the aggregator for the new My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program for consumers.

The initial effort will bring 20 MWh and 10 MW of renewable capacity to SMUD by recruiting, installing and aggregating capacity from customers’ battery storage systems located in the utility’s service area. The program has the opportunity to scale to 54 MWh and 27 MW over the term of the partnership. 

The virtual power plant program is an advanced initiative in California to aggregate residential solar and battery storage systems in a centralized manner to reduce carbon emissions and make the electric grid more renewable, resilient, and reliable.

The My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program enables customers to operate their individual systems alongside many others to aggregate and dispatch renewable energy sources to benefit their communities. Participating My Energy Optimizer Partner+ customers will receive both upfront and ongoing compensation, or GridRevenue™, based on the capacity of their solar and energy storage systems.

“As more SMUD customers add solar panel systems paired with battery storage solutions, they’ll be better able to manage their own energy needs while making meaningful contributions toward reducing their community’s carbon footprint,” said Lora Anguay, Chief Zero Carbon Officer of SMUD in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Swell to make this program a reality in 2023 and continue to deliver on our decarbonization plan, which promises environmental protection, excellence in grid resiliency and reliability, affordable rates, and local economic and workforce growth opportunities that benefit the entire region.”