Case Study: Xcel Energy manages rooftop solar growth and grid issues with Sunverge distributed battery storage

Xcel Energy Uses Distributed Storage to Manage Growing Concentration of Rooftop Solar in Denver

Xcel Energy–Colorado faced the challenge of integrating a high concentration of rooftop solar energy on its power grid in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver. The utility needed to manage resulting grid issues like voltage regulation and peak demand while balancing the need for future equipment upgrades. To address this, Xcel partnered with vendor Sunverge on a community energy storage demonstration project.

The solution implemented by Sunverge involved installing its 6.8 kW/11.6 kWh home battery storage systems on six homes with existing solar. These systems, managed through Sunverge’s cloud-based platform, can be controlled individually or aggregated as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to support the grid. The project aims to reduce feeder issues caused by high solar penetration and provide homeowners with reliable backup power during outages, potentially delaying the need for costly feeder upgrades.

Xcel Energy

Beth Chacon

Director, Grid Strategy and Emerging Technology