Virtual Power Plant Comes Online in Edmonton Master-Planned Community
A new residential virtual power plant (VPP) launched today in north central Edmonton, Canada.
The VPP was installed at Blatchford Lands, an newly-constructed master planned community built by Landmark Homes.
Each of the community’s 100 townhomes has 9 kW to 10 kW of rooftop solar, which will fulfill nearly all the home’s annual energy needs. During the winter, when solar production may drop, additional power will be supplied by the power grid.
The homes are also equipped with an energy storage battery from sonnen (whose name is stylized lower-case). The company networked the batteries together to form a VPP that will provide the community with emergency backup power and support the Canadian power grid by managing peak energy use and demand response participation.
VPPs use advanced software and communication technologies to manage, optimize and coordinate the output of distributed energy resources (DERs), like rooftop solar and energy storage systems, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and smart home devices such as appliances, televisions and smart lights.
Virtual power plants can aggregate tens, hundreds or even thousands of DERs into a single, dispatchable resource that can either reduce load or create supply during times of peak demand, helping the grid to stay in balance.
In Blatchford Lands, the VPP represents nearly half a megawatt of power and more than 2 MWh of storage capacity, making it the largest home battery-based VPP in a Canadian master planned community, according to sonnen.
Designed for next-zero living
Designed for net-zero living and a reduced environmental footprint, Blanchford Lands has been recognized for its commitment to sustainability and innovative community planning by the Canadian Home Builders Association, among others.
The largest carbon-neutral community in Canada, according to Landmark Homes, it features 80 acres of parks and greenspace, two lakes, designated bike lanes, a community garden and a community plaza that includes coffee shops and grocery stores.
With no natural gas connection, an electric heat pump heats and cools the home, which is built to maximize energy efficiency.
A growing VPP market
The Blanchford Lands VPP is the result of a partnership between Landmark Homes, sonnen, utility Epcor, electric retail provider Solartility and the University of Alberta.
The partners plan to replicate the project throughout Alberta and across Canada.
“Canada has developed into a rich and innovative VPP market thanks to the pioneering efforts and support from great partners,” said Geoff Ferrell, senior vice president of VPP business and field technical support, for sonnen USA.
Other groups in Canada are also investing in VPPs. In British Columbia, utility BC Hydro will install 200 residential batteries in two existing communities to provide backup power to homeowners and balance demands on the electric grid.
In Ontario, more than 100,000 residents have enrolled in the grid operator’s Save on Energy Peak Perks program, a VPP that leverages smart thermostats to manage peak demand.
Blanchford Lands marks sonnen’s entry into the Canadian VPP market, though its U.S. fleet is growing rapidly with projects in Utah, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
It plans to expand its presence north of the border over the next three years, growing its footprint to include more than 3,000 sites, 18 MW of energy and 60 MWh of grid support.
“What has been achieved at Blatchford Lands is extremely special, and even beyond many of the VPP market designs in America,” said Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen USA.
