Tesla virtual power plant adds 1,000 low-income households in South Australia

The second stage of Tesla’s virtual power plant (VPP) in South Australia will serve an additional 1,000 low-income households.

Solar panels and Tesla Powerwall 2 energy storage systems will be installed free of charge in selected residential communities, and these homes will form a grid that supplies power to each other.

Under the plan, 50,000 low-income households across the state will eventually receive 250 megawatts of solar power and 6.5 kilowatt-hours of battery storage capacity.

Tesla Virtual Power Plant is probably the world's largest VPPs project, which connects small energy sources such as rooftop solar panels to form a single large power source (Virtual Power Plant VPP). It's a bit like connecting personal computers through the Internet to form a supercomputer, except that the "Internet" here is the power grid.

Managers then trade the VPP's electricity and control it so that each household unit in the network gains economic benefits.

South Australia’s virtual power plant involves a collaboration between battery giant Tesla and the South Australian government.

Tesla VPP has reduced electricity bills for poor residents, which has been proven in the first phase of the VPP. In the first phase of the project, 100 households installed rooftop photovoltaics and energy storage batteries, including a 13.5kWh Tesla Powerwall 2 battery and a 5kW rooftop solar system. As a result, participating households reported a 70% reduction in their grid consumption and lower electricity bills .

At the same time, this also reduces the pressure on the power grid during peak electricity consumption and improves power grid reliability.

(Original text from: Renewable Energy News New Energy Network Comprehensive)