Utility Arizona Public Service has commissioned Generac to deliver grid capacity from residential energy storage systems under a multi-year contract in which it will provide capacity and advanced grid services.
Generac, a leading provider of generators and residential energy storage systems, announced its Grid Services division entered an agreement with Arizona Public Service (APS), to deliver additional grid capacity from residential battery storage systems. APS serves 1.3 million homes and businesses across the state.
The agreement involves Generac’s Concerto distributed energy management system to aggregate and provide capacity. Additionally, Generac will provide advanced grid services, including voltage management, real power orchestration, fleet energy control, and targeted responses.
The partnership comes as a result of APS’s Distributed Demand-Side Resources Aggregation Tariff, which encourages customers to install smart technologies like solar and energy storage and energy-saving products.
Demand management and response is particularly important in Arizona, where extreme heat leads to air conditioning usage, thereby leading to high peak demand. Distributed battery energy storage is hailed for its ability to more efficiently distribute power, leading to a reduced need for reserve generation and transmission resources.
Generac will dispatch its scalable PWRcell batteries, which range from 3 battery modules for up to 9 kWh of capacity and 4.5 kW output, to a 6-module configuration providing up to 18 kWh of capacity and 9 kW output.
Under the partnership, Generac will aggregate residential energy from PWRcell batteries over a five-year term starting in January 2023. The aggregated energy will support both system-wide capacity via demand response events, as well as locational capacity on target system feeders. The network of batteries may also be able to provide additional services to the grid when otherwise available.
“APS is excited to work with companies like Generac Grid Services to connect residential customers with smart home batteries capable of dispatching dependable power and strengthening the APS grid,” said Kerri Carnes, manager of customer technology at APS. “…this is just one more way we are partnering with our customers to maintain service reliability and to maximize the clean energy benefits of solar-plus-storage systems in our service territory.”
“Along with delivering a DERMS software solution, Generac Grid Services is proud to have been selected to provide customer acquisition, program management and measurement and verification services,” said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and chief executive officer of Generac. “By providing an end-to-end solution, we will support distributed demand-side resources for its life cycle, assisting APS at times when energy use is at its highest.”
Generac will use its dealer network to identify and recruit customers to participate in the battery aggregation program. Per the program parameters, customers will retain access to backup power in the event of an outage, and Generac said participation will not reduce battery resiliency. Customers are incentivized for their participation in the program.
