Vermont’s largest utility, Green Mountain Power, will soon be the first utility in the nation to offer home battery technology, courtesy of Tesla’s Powerwall.
The wall-mounted lithium ion batteries can store up to 7kWh of energy, which, according to Tesla, should be enough to power the average home through the evening hours.
Vermonters can soon purchase or lease Powerwall batteries to supplement their current utility service. The batteries can be paired with rooftop solar panels or simply store energy from the grid that will be used in two ways: to cover power outages and to regulate demand during peak energy-use hours. With peak demand reduced, everyone using the utility will see reduced costs.
"This is a game changer that will help fully leverage solar to the benefit of all with cost savings, while empowering Vermonters to generate, store and use energy closer to the home," said Mary Powell, Green Mountain Power’s president and CEO.
Those who want to participate have three options: lease the battery for a monthly fee and share its energy with the grid; buy it outright, share access and receive a monthly credit; or just buy it and keep all the stored energy for themselves.
Green Mountain — which serves about 265,000 Vermonters — made the initial announcement in May and is now expecting their first shipment of Powerwalls to arrive in January.
The program is going to start small, with 10 customers trying out the technology, before Green Mountain expands the offer to all of its customers.
Would you want to take advantage of this program? Do you think more utilities around the nation will soon utilize Powerwall or similar batteries? Comment below or tweet @MNetKatie.
