California — LG and Sunverge are collaborating on a residential virtual plant project with customers in Northern and Central California – one of the first pilot programs in the United States to incorporate both load control and PV/energy storage control holistically.
This project, which is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2022, explores 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,” according to Martin Milani, CEO of Sunverge Energy, provider of an industry-leading distributed energy resource (DER) control, orchestration and aggregation platform.
To deliver grid and consumer services to 100 homes in Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s service area of Northern and Central California, the PG&E Battery Storage Pilot Program will use LG’s energy storage systems and Sunverge’s DER software platform. The project also incorporates energy management circuit breakers from Eaton Corp., enabling the Sunverge platform’s holistic load control capabilities, in addition to energy storage and solar photovoltaic control orchestration and aggregation.
“The project will evaluate a number of program design elements, including time of use and real-time pricing signals, load shaping and shifting, event-based demand response as well as contingency reserve, frequency regulation and voltage support ancillary services. This is an important project that we are excited to be a part of,” said Milani.
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.” In addition to the LG energy storage systems and ThinQ Energy app, some homes in the PG&E pilot project are expected to incorporate LG’s high-efficiency solar modules, he explained.
Sitting on top of the LG hardware and the Sunverge DER platform and optimization algorithms, the LG ThinQ Energy app “provides a platform for homeowners to engage with their home’s energy profile in new and creative ways.” Hahm added. For instance, the LG ThinQ Energy mobile app unlocks value by enabling customers to view and control their home’s solar generation, battery storage and load control.
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