How 1,000 Harvesters Help Keep the Light on

It’s usually not news when something DOESN’T happen. But this week it was. California had a string of heat waves this summer –  and the lights stayed on. No rolling blackouts, “flex alerts” or Public Safety Power Shutoffs. Instead, as brilliantly covered by @PaulRogers in the East Bay Times, California’s recent scale-up of electrochemical batteries kept the lights on.

Since 2020, battery storage capacity has gone from 1,474 MW to 10,383 MW – a sevenfold increase! And while most of that capacity came from giant battery farms, over 15% came from homes and business installations – what’s known as “behind the meter” equipment. 

To give you some sense of scale, on a recent Wednesday evening, a record 8,329 MW of battery power was discharged – the equivalent of 4 nuclear power plants or 16 natural gas plants. That’s a lot of juice! 

So we’re out of the woods? Not so much. According to a recent report from Grid Strategies, grid planners have nearly doubled their forecasts for electric load growth. With more EVs, electrified homes, not to mention data centers, and large manufacturing plants, California’s need for electricity is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. 

So we’re going to need more batteries of every kind. This is why Harvest is so important. Our Smart Thermal Battery™ shifts electric load from peak to off-peak times and helps keep the lights on. It operates the heat pump duing the day when electricity is cheapest and cleanest, and delivers stored heat and hot water on demand.  Our system can remove 3 MW of peak power from the grid on winter mornings for every 1,000 homes with Harvest.

While homeowners with Harvest stay comfy warm in their homes – and save $$ on monthly bills –  they contribute to a cleaner and more reliable grid. Way to go Harvesters!