Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Sunrun Inc (NASDAQ:RUN) and Renew Home are working together to free up enough electrical capacity to support the equivalent of 17 large data centers during periods of peak demand, the companies announced on Wednesday.
Sunrun is the largest U.S. residential solar and battery installer, while Renew Home, a Google spin-off, manages smart home energy devices such as thermostats and water heaters.
The companies plan to create what is known as a virtual power plant, a network of distributed energy devices such as batteries, thermostats and solar systems that can be coordinated through software to reduce pressure on the grid during peak demand.
Instead of relying solely on new power plants or transmission lines, the companies want to tap energy resources already sitting inside homes.
After consumers opt in, software could charge home batteries when solar energy is abundant and discharge that power later when electricity demand spikes, particularly during evening hours when AI data centers continue consuming power.
