More Texans With Solar Panels Can Now Sell Their Power to The Grid

(Bloomberg) -- More Texans who have rooftop solar and batteries will be able to sell their spare power to the state grid under a plan starting this month. 

Sunnova Energy International Inc. tapped electricity retailer David Energy to offer the plan to its customers, saying households could earn hundreds of dollars a year by selling power on the state grid in real time prices.

The program “can turn Texans’ homes into power plants” and has the potential to bring hundreds of megawatts of flexible capacity to the state grid, said James McGinniss, CEO of David Energy.

Texas has more than 217,000 installed home batteries and pooling together kilowatts could become the equivalent of making a small power plant available, a quick fix to keep the grid stable through tight conditions. 

Read more: Tesla Taking Page From Mobile Plans With Home Charging for $30

Buy-back plans are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to how much the energy transition will hit US pocketbooks. The volatility of electricity prices is creating shocks for consumers and the same will likely be true when it comes to figuring out plans that have the best protections for customers. 

As the rollout of rooftop solar, battery systems and EVs is deployed, creating the right incentives to control when households sap or supply grids is a critical piece to manage potentially big swings in electricity use without breaking the grid. By using software and increasingly artificial intelligence, grids can become nimble and rebound faster in the face extreme weather brought on by climate change.

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