Launched in January 2025 with SOLRITE Energy, a solar and battery financing company, the program installs solar panels and sonnen batteries at no upfront cost for eligible customers. These batteries are networked into VPPs under a 25-year power purchase agreement, with excess energy sold to the grid to enhance stability and generate revenue for sonnen and SOLRITE, offsetting equipment costs.
VPPs use advanced software to manage distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, and smart home devices. By aggregating these resources, VPPs balance grid demand, reducing load or supplying energy during peak times. Participants benefit from lower electricity rates through solar power and gain backup power for resilience during outages.
Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen, stated: “Our VPP solutions enable customers to actively participate in the energy market while maintaining resilience in their homes.”
The program now includes Abundance Energy customers with sonnenConnect batteries. Abundance Energy, a Texas-based retail electricity provider, purchases electricity wholesale and sells it directly to consumers, operating in Texas’s competitive market with over 120 providers.
Thomas Mandry, CEO of Abundance Energy, noted: “Our mission is to empower homeowners with smarter, more sustainable energy solutions.”
Sonnen’s VPP technology integrates with Energywell’s Proton platform, which optimizes battery performance based on real-time market prices, customer usage, and solar output. The platform’s forecasting tools balance supply and demand, maximizing benefits for customers and the grid.
Michael Fallquist, CEO of Energywell, commented: “The Texas energy landscape is evolving, and this partnership exemplifies the future of distributed energy. By optimizing stored energy, we are reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions, building a smarter, cleaner, and more flexible grid.”
Mandry added: “By combining sonnen’s best-in-class battery and virtual power plant technology [and] Energywell’s market expertise through its Proton platform, we are delivering an innovative VPP model that benefits both customers and the Texas grid.”
Texas’s grid has faced challenges from extreme weather, prompting investment in solar, wind, and storage. Sonnen’s VPP, with a 60 MWh customer base, is projected to surpass Tesla’s VPP in Texas by late 2026, reflecting the state’s growing adoption of distributed energy solutions.
