Sunrun to supply residential solar-plus-storage capacity to Voltus for AI data center program

US residential solar and battery storage provider Sunrun has entered a partnership with distributed energy resource platform Voltus to supply capacity for Voltus's Bring Your Own Capacity (BYOC) program, which is designed to support AI data center developers seeking faster grid interconnection.

Under the agreement, Sunrun will contribute energy capacity from a portion of its thousands of residential storage-plus-solar systems operating across the PJM and MISO grid regions. The move reflects a growing trend among data center developers to bypass traditional, time-intensive interconnection queues by tapping into distributed energy resources already connected to the grid.

The BYOC program, launched by Voltus in October last year, offers data center developers an alternative pathway to interconnection by using the company's virtual power plant (VPP) platform to deliver market-accredited capacity. Through this model, developers can present their own capacity stack to utilities, potentially securing approvals and project build-outs years ahead of schedule.

Sunrun CEO Mary Powell emphasized the broader significance of the collaboration, saying, "Meeting growing energy demand requires us to maximize every single electron available across the country. In collaboration with Voltus, we are providing critical capacity from home batteries supported by funding from hyperscalers. This is just the beginning of what distributed energy assets can achieve."

Voltus CEO Dana Guernsey echoed that sentiment, noting, "BYOC is about turning distributed resources into capacity the grid can count on, and maximizing value for the end user. This partnership brings together Sunrun's residential scale with Voltus's market-integrated flexibility platform so distributed capacity can support reliability, affordability, and growth as electricity demand increases."

Since its inception, the BYOC program has gained notable traction. Voltus has signed a 100MW agreement with Google to support the company's operations across the PJM grid, and has also partnered with Octopus Energy US to build flexible capacity portfolios for data center firms under the BYOC framework.

The new deal marks the second collaboration between Voltus and Sunrun. In June, the two companies, alongside Tesla, signed an agreement to aggregate more than 16GW of residential energy capacity across the US for sale to hyperscalers and utilities. That initiative draws on home battery systems, smart thermostats, and vehicle-to-grid devices already installed across the grid.

Voltus operates as a distributed energy and VPP platform across the US, connecting distributed energy resources to all nine wholesale markets in North America, with more than 7.5GW of DERs currently in operation. Sunrun, established in 2007, is the largest US provider of photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage products, primarily serving residential customers.

The partnership underscores how distributed energy resources are increasingly being positioned as a strategic solution to meet the surging electricity demand from AI-driven data center growth, offering a path that balances reliability, affordability, and speed to market.