Virtual power plants are coming to California apartment buildings
Naomi Hawk works on a job site installing solar panels on the roof of an apartment complex in SE Washington D.C. on August 27, 2019. | Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images Three thousand Californian apartments will be linked up to solar panels and batteries - meaning they might never experience a power outage again, no matter what California's utility companies do. The project, planned by German energy storage company Sonnen, will be spread across seven apartment complexes - the largest of its kind.
Virtual power plants can offer California residents reliability
The connected set of solar panels and batteries form what's called a virtual power plant." Besides making sure the whole community can run on backup solar power during blackouts, these VPPs also reduce strain on the grid - because VPPs store their energy on-site. What's more, they can be tapped to provide energy during demand peaks.
As I look...