DER - Storage

Kraken dips its tendrils into SolarEdge; battery customers can now join virtual power plant

Kraken dips its tendrils into SolarEdge; battery customers can now join virtual power plant
(Credit: Dennis Schroeder / NREL )

Kraken Technologies and SolarEdge Technologies announced a strategic partnership in which SolarEdge batteries will be integrated into Kraken – an energy platform and the technology behind Octopus Energy.

This partnership will allow SolarEdge customers to charge their batteries when energy is most abundant and sell excess back to the grid to support supply at peak times – all automated by Kraken.

Octopus Energy customers in the UK and Texas will receive access to Octopus Energy’s ‘Intelligent Octopus’ tariffs – import and export tariffs that offer customers competitive rates for consuming and selling their energy.

SolarEdge systems around the world will be able to join Kraken’s virtual power plant, which currently includes 1.1GW of distributed domestic devices balancing energy supply and demand. Kraken said this move enables its global client base of energy retailers to develop their own smart tariffs for SolarEdge battery owners. The client base includes E.ON, EDF, Tokyo Gas, Origin and Octopus Energy.

“This strategic partnership puts SolarEdge customers at the center of the energy ecosystem and helps drive greater energy resiliency to homes and the grid in the UK and Texas,” said Zvi Lando, CEO of SolarEdge Technologies. “As the world continues to transition towards net-zero, these programs will be critical to ensuring a stable penetration of renewable energy into the grid network.”

Earlier this year, Octopus Energy announced it is partnering with Enphase Energy, a supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems, to create a virtual power plant in Texas. With the partnership, Octopus Energy customers in the US will be able to integrate Enphase home solar and battery solutions in their energy plan in the hopes of accessing low-cost residential energy rates.

Octopus Energy will be bidding these DERs in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) ancillary markets, considered a first of its kind for these assets.

Founded in the UK in 2015, Octopus Energy expanded its offerings to the US in 2020.

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