$5.9 Million Study on Hybrid Solar Systems
As part of SMUD`s $5.9 million SolarSmart program, which is backed by the Department of Energy, California Energy Commission and SunPower, lithium-ion batteries have been installed in 42 homes in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
The aim of the program is to understand if the batteries in a hybrid solar system can ease load demand and provide more electricity when renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are not sufficient . The study also aims to deduce how battery storage and solar mesh with time-of-use rates, whereby customers pay more for electricity during peak hours and less during low-demand times. As the batteries provide power during peak demand, customers could save money by not drawing all their power from the grid during those hours.
SMUD hopes to have a much better idea whether energy storage benefits the customer and the utility, and how best to operate the system after the completion of this study.
If you want to know more about this and other topics directly from end users of energy storage technologies join us at one of these annual events: The Energy Storage World Forum (Grid Scale Applications), or The Residential Energy Storage Forum, or one of our Training Courses.
