[Energy Storage: Google-funded virtual power plant launches in the San Francisco Bay Area]
PG&E, together with Google and Rewiring America, has launched the SHARE virtual power plant program, which will orchestrate approximately 21,000 existing home batteries, smart thermostats and other distributed energy resources across the Bay Area while subsidizing battery-enabled heat pumps, targeting around 12 MW of flexible capacity by 2028. The program is fully funded by Google, with eligible customers in Santa Clara and Alameda counties receiving discounts of at least $5,000 toward heat pump installations. The pilot combines enrollment of existing devices with privately funded new technology deployment and is expected to begin supporting the grid in fall 2026.