The Go Back battery retrofit initiative run by Rocky Mountain Power's Wattsmart virtual power plant program offers financial incentives to customers, making the use of solar power and battery storage more accessible and affordable.
ES Solar partnered with energy innovation group Sonnen to retrofit batteries in the homes of Utah residential solar power users as part of the Go Back program, as Utility Dive reported. They sold 18 megawatt hours of home energy storage systems, making up about 75% of ES Solar's sales for 2024.
The companies are just getting started. Over the next five years, ES Solar plans to retrofit about 32,000 residents with Sonnen batteries. This would cover about 40% of the state's solar-only residential PV systems.
Through the Go Back program, customers who installed solar systems on or before Sept. 1, 2021, could qualify for a $600/kW incentive if they install a home battery system and sign up for Wattsmart.
Those who purchase a new solar-plus-storage system could qualify for a $400/kW incentive from Rocky Mountain Power.
So far the partnership between ES Solar and Sonnen has been a great success, offering hope for the future of grid-connected solar power systems and home battery storage.
Utah homeowners are getting the benefits of home energy storage while also receiving financial incentives from the power company.
Solar power allows customers to cut down on power bills, and battery storage helps protect them from additional rate increases and future power outages.
Expanded use of clean energy such as solar power is also great for the environment, as it reduces demand on dirty energy sources that create toxic air pollution.
Clean energy sources including solar systems offer homeowners less expensive and more reliable energy. The Go Back program helps make the tech more affordable, and customers looking to save even more money on home energy upgrades can find help from the U.S. government.
The Inflation Reduction Act helps consumers get tax credits and rebates on products such as induction stoves, heat pumps, and even solar panels.
"ES Solar has established a new, replicable business model and sales marketing strategy [to enable] grid-interactive and responsive solar that supports rather than becomes a nuisance to the energy grid," Sonnen USA Chairman and CEO Blake Richetta said in a statement.
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