David Silverstein, owner of roofing company American Home Contractors, is an istaller of Tesla solar glass roofs. Siverstein has installed the cutting edge technology, including Tesla storage batteries at his own home. (Dylan Slagle/Carroll County Times)
Green Mountain Power has a virtual power plant (VPP) consisting of more than 4,000 Tesla Powerwalls in Vermont. It not only increases the amount of renewable energy from the electrical grid and maintains its stability, but also saves millions of dollars.
Green Mountain Power (GMP) is an energy transformation company providing power and innovative products and services to three-quarters of Vermont. The company is changing the traditional electrical grid to focus on energy storage and consumption through batteries across the state. In particular, Tesla Powerwalls are used for this, located in the homes of residents of the state, which support the electrical grid when the need arises. The goal is to buy less dirty energy from the regional grid and fight climate change.
“Over time, as we invest in this and develop it with our customers, we will literally create a Vermont that can withstand all of the impacts of the climate crisis because we have decentralized all aspects of the grid,” said GMP CECO Mari McClure, according to WCAX (via Electrek).
If there is a power outage, power remains on by extracting power from Tesla Powerwalls installed in households across the state. “When the greater grid is affected by weather, the local resilient efforts can keep everyone safe, warm, powered up,” said McClure.
GMP is no stranger to this, as their program has been running for several years now. McClure said there are over 4,000 Powerwalls online, which is really impressive. This VPP saved over $3 million in 2021 alone. In addition, almost $1.5 million has already been saved due to one event in 2022.
Such successes have shown great benefits and stimulated development as quickly as possible. McClure said that GMP is looking to expand, so it contacted Liberty Utilities in New Hampshire about program rollout, as well as utilities out in Wyoming and Idaho. In addition, in Vermont, GMP is in the process of planning microgrids in Brattleboro, Rochester, and Grafton.
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
