The People Speak: We Want Energy Storage, Not Data Centers

Sunrun, the country's largest rooftop solar company, has shifted its focus toward home batteries, and the numbers show homeowners are responding. Customer participation in the company's virtual power plant programs jumped from 20,000 in 2024 to more than 106,000 in 2025. A virtual power plant links many home batteries together so a utility can draw on them during periods of high demand, and participants typically get a rebate or bill credit in return. Sunrun says its battery fleet's combined capacity reached 416 megawatts by the end of 2025, and the company accounted for nearly half of all residential battery installations nationwide that year.

The appeal goes beyond saving money. Sunrun's own surveys found that about two-thirds of its customers value home batteries mainly for the control and independence they offer, rather than environmental reasons. That independence showed up in practice this year: during a September heat wave, Sunrun and Tesla coordinated 580 megawatts of home battery power to ease strain on California's grid. The company also reports that 70 percent of its recent rooftop solar customers chose to add a battery as well, and it has lined up a new domestically made solar panel for future installations.

For homeowners, the takeaway is that battery storage has become useful on its own, not just as an add-on to solar panels. Anyone connected to the grid with access to a utility discount or rebate program may be able to benefit from a battery, whether or not solar panels are part of the picture. Program details and rebates vary by state and utility, so it's worth checking what is offered locally.