sonnen VPP (Virtual Power Plant) Everything You Need To Know
Well, sonnen now has the option for homeowners to join their awesome sonnenConnect VPP and become a part of a community to help keep your bills even lower.
I can imagine we are all a little confused about what the sonnenConnect is and how it works. Don’t stress, I’m going to take you through details on how this works and what it means for homeowners who consider joining.
For anyone who is interested, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our specialist sonnen experts here. Additionally we have a full review on sonnen batteries here.
Without further adieu, let’s jump straight into this and learn all about the sonnenConnect VPP.
Table Of Contents
What Is The sonnenConnect Virtual Power Plant?
In the most simple terms, sonnenConnect is a virtual power plant (VPP) available for eligible sonnen battery owners to connect too. This further helps stabilise the local grid and comes with a range of benefits for battery owners.
When you join the sonnenConnect VPP you will be eligible for some amazing rewards including daily bonus plus a sign up bonus from sonnen.
Overall, sonnen is giving their battery owners an opportunity to move towards a much more community focused future with monthly benefits and all year round low bills.
The sonnenConnect VPP has been active for almost a year now and is already seeing some serious interest which is fantastic.
Who Is Eligible To Join The sonnen VPP?
Ok, so to be able to join the sonnenConnect VPP you will need to check your eligibility below from the list I’ve created. Please remember though you must not already be connected to a virtual power plant or the sonnenFlat energy program.
Also note you must own your battery outright and be connected to the National Electricity Market in SA, ACT, QLD, VIC, TAS or NSW.
Here’s a list of all requirements to be eligible to join sonnenConnect:
- Own a sonnen battery
- Your battery must be bigger than 4kW
- Residential and commercial customers can connect
- Live within Australia and be connected to NEM (National Energy Market)
It’s also important to let you know that customers can sign up at any time and can also exit at any time. When you sign up to sonnenConnect you are eligible for a once off $100 sign up bonus!
This is a lovely touch coming from sonnen to help incentivise customers to join the VPP program.
What Are The Benefits Of sonnen VPP?
Well, sonnenConnect can give you a wide range of benefits as we’re going to look through. To be honest, virtual power plants are becoming more and more dominant in the way that they offer better options for homeowners.
Not only this, but as we move towards a more renewable future it’s in the back of our mind that we need to move as a community, not as individuals. On a grand scale, VPP is ensuring a commitment towards a greener, more affordable future.
Anyway, let’s take a good look at the benefits of the sonnen VPP so you can find out if it’s worth it for you! Here’s my list below:
Get more from your battery investment
That’s right. sonnenConnect gives you access to more benefits and more value without even having to change your energy retailer. It’s ideal for sure, meaning you can really take advantage of your energy retailer and your solar battery all at once.
Eligible to get back $299.30 in credits
That’s right. sonnenConnect gives you access to more benefits and more value without even having to change your energy retailer. It’s ideal for sure, meaning you can really take advantage of your energy retailer and your solar battery all at once.
Receive a whopping $100+GST free when you sign up
I did briefly mention this above. It’s a lovely benefit from sonnen to say thank you for joining the sonnenConnect VPP. To be fair, I haven’t actually seen any other VPP programs offer a sign up bonus either.
This is setting them apart with some strong incentives to join the program. Nice touch from sonnen.
No exit fees or lock in contracts
For me this is certainly important. Having the freedom to be able to exit at any moment takes the pressure away from the sonnen VPP. This is especially important for those homeowners who invested in a battery to move towards a more independent future.
Can help prevent black outs in your local area by helping to stabilise the grid frequency
If your local area suffers from frequent blackouts then it would be a strong consideration to join the sonnenConnect VPP. This will help stabilise the grid much more and offer a better future for your community. Blackout’s are a pain for everyone, so standing together is important.
Request sonnenBatterie Proposal.
Speak to our sonnen experts who can carry out a free energy assessment to help you understand how much you can benefit from a sonnenBatterie. Request a proposal from one of our design engineers and move towards a more sustainable future today.
sonnen Will Send You Monthly Reports On Your Battery
This certainly caught my eye because I know how important it would be to track and monitor how much energy was being used. You can also then monitor your return on investment and ensure that it’s going well for you.
Reports are super important to ensure that you are moving in the right direction. It’s also a great touch to see how you have been helping your community in the last few months.
I know that I would be feeling great when you can see if I prevented any blackouts or helped share out clean, renewable energy across my local community. It’s important that we move together into a renewable future.
Overall it’s good to see that sonnenConnect will be providing transparent data and reports on your VPP program so you can see what’s going on.
Your sonnen Battery Will Not Be Access During A Blackout
That’s correct. sonnen will not use your battery during a blackout meaning you will have access to the remaining power stored in your sonnenBatterie. This may give battery owners peace of mind knowing they are secure from blackouts.
Not only that, but if the grid is down your battery will actually get removed from the VPP meaning there would be no way for sonnenConnect to access this power. They can only access batteries on a live grid.
Overall I think this is important for those who want to maintain a high level of independence incase of any blackouts. However, by joining a VPP you are moving towards preventing blackouts in your area by stabilising the grid.
It’s definitely a good feature here and something that is worth being brought up. I know that some of you would be interested to know about this.
There Are No Exit Fees For The sonnenConnect VPP
By joining the sonnenConnect VPP you will not be tied into any long term contracts or hit with any excess exit fees if you decide to leave. I did mention this above but I feel like I want to highlight it again.
This is because it allows battery owners the peace of mind in knowing that they are not tied down to anything. I think it’s relevant to us because when we buy a battery we are doing so for more energy independence.
Either way, I really think this is an important feature from sonnen. This compares favourably with other VPP in the area and gives sonnenConnect the competitive edge it needs.
Conclusion:
Well, I suppose to summarise the entire sonnenConnect VPP; you will be getting more from your energy supplier with monthly rewards when your battery is online, and a sign up bonus.
Of course the other benefits of a VPP is that you’re stabilising the grid and therefore helping to prevent blackouts in your area. Not only this but you’re also contributing towards moving your community to a cheaper, greener future.
Lastly, you will be getting all year round low cost bills and can really benefit from your solar battery.
I’d love to hear your thoughts regarding this topic in the comments below. If you are already apart on the VPP let everyone know your thoughts below.
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Written By:
Luke Cove
Managing Director
Lightning Solar & Electrical
