The latest renewable energy news include announcements from PG&E, Hawaii Energy Connection, PowerBank, Google and Rewiring America, and others.
PG&E, Google and Rewiring America Launch 20,000-Device Virtual Power Plant
PG&E has partnered with Google and Rewiring America to launch SHARE, a virtual power plant combining household batteries, smart devices and battery-enabled heat pumps across California’s Bay Area. The programme aims to enrol more than 20,000 existing customer energy devices while delivering hundreds of discounted home-energy upgrades. Technology and programme partners include Google, Carrier, Tesla, Sunrun, Renew Home, Demand Side Analytics and encoord. Participating devices will be coordinated to reduce electricity consumption or provide stored power during periods of high system demand. The initiative represents a significant distributed-energy deployment because it aggregates existing household equipment rather than relying exclusively on new utility-scale generation. PG&E intends SHARE to improve grid reliability and reduce the cost of meeting rapidly rising electricity demand.
Hawaii Energy Connection Passes 1,000 Home Battery Installations With 1,800 FranklinWH Units
Hawaii Energy Connection has completed its 1,000th FranklinWH residential energy-storage installation, taking deployments to 1,800 aPower battery units across more than 1,000 Hawaiian homes. The average installation therefore approaches two battery units per household. The milestone comes as Hawaii regulators consider programmes that could compensate homeowners for exporting stored electricity to the grid through virtual power plants. Hawaii already has more than 1 GW of residential rooftop solar capacity and approximately 410 MW of battery storage paired with those systems, according to the announcement. Hawaii Energy Connection operates locally through its KumuKit brand. The deployment demonstrates the increasing role of distributed battery systems in a market characterised by high electricity prices, substantial rooftop-solar penetration and heightened demand for resilience during outages and severe weather.
PowerBank Wins $3.58 Million Contract for 1.6 MW SUNY Oneonta Solar Project
PowerBank has been awarded a New York Power Authority contract to develop a 1.6 MW ground-mounted solar project at SUNY Oneonta. PowerBank will design, develop, finance, construct, own, operate and maintain the behind-the-meter installation, which will become the university’s first megawatt-scale onsite solar array. Construction value is estimated at $3.58 million, while expected US federal Investment Tax Credits are valued at approximately $1.4 million. Once operating, the solar facility should generate electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of roughly 205 homes while reducing SUNY Oneonta’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and peak grid demand. The next development milestone is receipt of the building permit. The project was awarded following a competitive NYPA procurement.
