Originally published on CleanTechnica
by Joshua S Hill
The largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States, Sunrun, has partnered with international utility National Grid in a “multifaceted partnership” which includes a $100 million investment towards owning 200 megawatts of residential solar assets.
On Tuesday, Sunrun announced the partnership with National Grid, one of the world’s largest investor-owned utilities, which serves more than 20 million people in the US, as well as running the grid in the United Kingdom. According to the two companies, this “multifaceted partnership … underscores the long-term importance of rooftop solar in the energy resource mix.”
As of writing, we know that the partnership between the two companies involves a joint marketing agreement, a collaborative grid service pilot, and a partnership to own approximately 200 megawatts (MW) of residential solar assets across all of Sunrun’s current markets, to which National Grid has committed $100 million in equity.
The underlying goal of the partnership is “accelerating the adoption of rooftop solar in a cost-effective, highly scalable way,” and is initially targeting approximately 100,000 single family homes in National Grid’s downstate New York service area.
“We are excited to partner with National Grid, a utility focused on truly creating a clean energy future, and to promote the growth of rooftop solar in the United States,” said Lynn Jurich, Chief Executive Officer of Sunrun. “This partnership demonstrates Sunrun’s ability to develop new strategic and financial relationships with partners to increase consumer access to rooftop solar while further unlocking value for customers.”
National Grid is also committing to better understanding “the transformation occurring in the sector,” and is set to work with Sunrun to “explore options of how distributed energy resources might be aggregated and used to help keep the energy grid balanced and optimized.”
“This exciting partnership with Sunrun provides an opportunity for National Grid to increase our capability in the distributed energy space, and enhance our ability to meet the changing energy needs of our customers and communities,” said John Flynn, SVP of Strategy and Business Development at National Grid.
