Sunrun launches nation’s first vehicle-to-home grid support in Maryland using Ford F-150 Lightning trucks

Sunrun, the nation’s leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, is now operating the nation’s first vehicle-to-home power plant using a small group of customer-owned bidirectional electric vehicles. In partnership with Maryland’s largest utility, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, the regulator-approved initiative utilizes all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks to deliver power to owners’ homes this summer during peak demand times to support Maryland’s power grid.

The program includes three Sunrun customers in BGE’s service territory who own an F-150 Lightning paired with Ford Charge Station Pro and Home Integration System, which is sold exclusively through Sunrun. This program is the first operational bidirectional electric vehicle power plant in the United States that uses a cohort of customer vehicles.

“This program is a significant proof of concept—no other market player has done this—and the goal is to expand these programs all around the country,” says Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “This exciting partnership lays the foundation for the power grid of the future where electric vehicle owners can contribute to grid resiliency and utility price stability for everyone. The summer heat can be especially stressful on our power grid, which is why proving the use of stored energy in electric vehicles for capacity is so important.”

BGE was awarded grant funding from the Department of Energy to create an electric vehicle virtual power plant. BGE partnered with Sunrun to develop and administer the program, which is designed to assist BGE’s system during times of peak energy consumption. By discharging F-150 Lightnings’ onboard batteries directly to participants’ homes, the program showcases how electric vehicles can function like stationary batteries to reduce demand on the grid and create a more resilient and reliable energy system for all BGE customers in Maryland.

Sunrun is networking and monitoring the enrolled F-150 Lightning trucks as they share stored energy during dispatch windows from June 1 to September 30, 2024, between the hours of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. All funding will flow to enrolled customers, who will receive a payment based on the amount of energy shared—estimated to be $800 over the four months of the program.

“We know that the power stored in electric vehicles will be essential in our state’s effort to achieve its bold net-zero emissions goals,” says Mark Case, vice president of Regulatory Policy and Strategy at BGE. “Partnering with Sunrun will allow BGE to unlock and learn the potential of how vehicle-to-grid programs will support increasing grid efficiency and reliability with distributed energy resources, while providing a valuable new benefit to customers.”

Sunrun has an existing partnership with Ford Motor Company to serve as the preferred installer for Ford Intelligent Backup Power, which includes the Ford Charge Station Pro and the co-developed Home Integration System—the first commercially available bidirectional system in the United States. Intelligent Backup Power gives customers the ability to use bidirectional power technology from their all-electric truck to provide up to 10 days of power to their homes during an outage, depending on home energy usage.

"The ability of Ford’s F-150 Lightning to support the electric grid and generate revenue for the owner while parked at home is a game-changing moment for electric vehicles in Maryland and nationwide as other manufacturers will follow," says state delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo. "I applaud the collaboration between Sunrun, Ford, and BGE. Maryland has established itself as first in the nation on vehicle-to-home innovation and will need to see more innovation like this if we are to meet our ambitious climate goals and prove that some of the solutions we need to pursue start right in the homes of Marylanders."

In addition to demonstrating vehicle-to-home capabilities, the program’s goals also include learning the behaviors and preferences of electric vehicle owners. Based on insights gained, Sunrun and BGE plan to explore expanding the program, offering incentives for existing F-150 Lightning owners to adopt bidirectional charging and developing direct, vehicle-to-grid capabilities so that energy from electric vehicles can be shared throughout a community.

“BGE and Ford have been amazing partners. This program combines each organization’s core strengths for the benefit of all ratepayers—that’s the beauty of this joint collaboration,” says Chris Rauscher, Sunrun’s head of Grid Services. “Virtual power plants with bidirectional electric vehicles will play a key role in the clean energy transition. We look forward to scaling these innovative programs with BGE and other utilities around the country.”