Manufacturer Specs · Checked October 14, 2026
VPP Eligibility by Battery Manufacturer
Which batteries can join which virtual power plant (VPP) programs, and what enrollment means for the battery itself: backup reserve during events, warranty throughput, wear and round-trip losses against program pay.
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Short answer
- Enrolling a battery in a virtual power plant (VPP) hands dispatch to the aggregator. In most battery programs the manufacturer is that aggregator. It decides when the battery charges and discharges during events, and reserve settings may not hold: Tesla’s ConnectedSolutions agreement lets it override the backup reserve before and during events (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page), while Generac’s California program always keeps at least 20% of usable capacity in reserve (Generac California VPP terms).
- Event-based programs barely touch warranty life. A full ConnectedSolutions season of 60 three-hour events uses about 648 kWh, roughly 1.7% of the 37.8 MWh that Tesla’s Powerwall warranty allows for VPP use (Tesla Powerwall U.S. warranty). Daily programs are different: a Generac PWRcell 2 exporting 80% of its capacity every day would use about 12% of its warranted throughput each year.
- Per-kW pay usually outruns wear and losses. In our Powerwall 3 example, a ConnectedSolutions season pays about $792 gross through Tesla, against roughly $224 of warranty-based wear and $33 of round-trip losses.
- Eligibility is set by brand. Six manufacturers enroll their own batteries in different programs in different states. Program design, including the gap between demand response and an orchestrated VPP and the manufacturer’s share of pay, is covered in more depth at VPP Economics.
What enrollment changes for the battery
A battery in a grid program serves two masters. Outside events it runs in whatever mode its owner chose, usually self-consumption, time-of-use savings or backup. During events the aggregator takes over to deliver grid flexibility. Three things change, and they differ by brand.
The aggregator decides when
The manufacturer receives the utility’s event signal, precharges the fleet and discharges it. Tesla participants can opt out of individual events in the app or pause participation (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page). Generac’s California program runs at most one event a day, every day (Generac California VPP terms). In Hawaii’s BYOD+, the participant picks a fixed two-hour window and commits a kW level to deliver daily (FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page).
How much stays for outages
Tesla’s support page says Powerwall keeps the chosen Event Backup Reserve, but its program agreement says the reserve “will be overridden” before and during events to maximize performance (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page). Generac discharges up to 80% of usable capacity, keeps 20%, and skips events if an outage has drained the battery below that (Generac California VPP terms). FranklinWH batteries do not export during an outage under BYOD+ (FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page).
Which cycles count
Powerwall cycles are unlimited for self-consumption, time-of-use and backup, but VPP use counts against a 37.8 MWh cap (Tesla Powerwall U.S. warranty). Generac states that program participation does not affect the PWRcell warranty (Generac California VPP terms), though warranties on PWRcell 2 modules are written as 10 years or 7.56 MWh each (Generac PWRcell 2 specification sheet). SolarEdge warrants 70% capacity at 10 years with no cycle limit (SolarEdge Home Battery 400V datasheet).
How much warranty life a program uses
Battery warranties limit use by years, cycles or total energy delivered, called throughput. Dividing a program’s yearly discharge by the warranted throughput shows how fast the program consumes warranty life. Event-based programs, which call batteries a few dozen times a summer, use a small fraction. Programs with daily dispatch use about as much as daily self-consumption cycling.
The comparison is not one of equal costs. Under Hawaii’s BYOD+, energy discharged in the daily window can power the home or be exported for a bill credit (FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page), so much of it would have been cycled anyway. Generac’s California exports pay through MCE’s FLEXmarket and CAISO resource adequacy, with $1,000 upfront for new systems plus $100 a year (Generac California VPP program; Generac California VPP terms).
Share of warranted throughput used per year
Annual program discharge ÷ warranted throughput, at full participation
Swipe to see the full chart →
Pay against wear and losses
Every kWh a battery delivers has two costs. Round-trip losses mean more energy goes in than comes out, and California’s storage incentive program measured an 83% average across 436 home systems (CPUC SGIP 2019 storage impact evaluation). Wear is the share of the battery’s warranted life used up. Dividing installed cost by warranted throughput puts that at roughly 24–35¢ per kWh for three common models, using EnergySage brand averages (EnergySage battery cost data). The Cycle Life & Round-Trip Efficiency page explains both.
Applied to a full ConnectedSolutions season in Massachusetts, a Powerwall 3 holding a 20% reserve averages about 3.6 kW over 3-hour events. At Tesla’s net rate of $220 per kW, that is about $792, close to the “nearly $800 per Powerwall” Tesla estimates (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page).
One ConnectedSolutions season, Powerwall 3
Massachusetts, 60 three-hour events, dollars per season
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Why wear cost is a ceiling
Warranty-based wear cost treats each kWh as a share of the battery’s price. It is an upper bound: a battery bought for backup carries its cost whether or not it cycles, and many outlast their warranty terms. It matters most when a program’s cycling would exhaust warranted throughput before the calendar term ends, which event-based programs rarely do. Capacity payments per kW are also why most programs call batteries for a limited number of events rather than paying per kWh of daily cycling.
Battery terms by manufacturer
VPP use has its own cap
About 30 programs (Tesla virtual power plant programs). Self-consumption is unlimited, but VPP discharge counts toward 37.8 MWh (Tesla Powerwall U.S. warranty). Tesla pays participants 80% of the ConnectedSolutions incentive, locked for five years, and its agreement allows the backup reserve to be overridden during events (Tesla ConnectedSolutions page). DSGS pays up to $280 per Powerwall (Tesla DSGS page).
Cycle-rated warranty
The IQ Battery 5P is warranted for 15 years or 6,000 cycles (Enphase IQ Battery 5P datasheet), a large allowance relative to event-based programs. Enphase enrolls through installers across ConnectedSolutions, Green Mountain Power, Duke, New York, Connecticut, DSGS and PSEG Long Island (Enphase grid services programs; Enphase Green Mountain Power page; Enphase New York programs page).
Throughput-rated, daily options
aPower 2 is warranted for 15 years or 60 MWh (FranklinWH aPower 2 datasheet). Its 25+ programs include daily-window designs such as Hawaii’s BYOD+, which pays $400 per committed kW upfront (FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page), and event programs such as SRP at $55 per kW for up to 80 events (FranklinWH SRP page; FranklinWH VPP support).
No cycle cap
Warranted for 70% capacity at 10 years without a cycle limit (SolarEdge Home Battery 400V datasheet), so program cycling does not draw down a throughput allowance. More than 500 MWh is enrolled across 16 states and Puerto Rico (SolarEdge 500 MWh VPP announcement). At APS, participants consent to SolarEdge adjusting the battery’s schedule (SolarEdge APS page).
Fixed reserve, daily export
PWRcell 2 modules are warranted for 10 years or 7.56 MWh each (Generac PWRcell 2 specification sheet). The California program discharges up to 80% daily and keeps 20%; systems installed more than a month before enrollment receive $500 instead of $1,000 (Generac California VPP terms). ConnectedSolutions pays a guaranteed incentive over 5 years (Generac ConnectedSolutions page).
Built for heavy cycling
The sonnenCore+ is warranted for 10 years or 10,000 cycles (sonnenCore+ technical specifications), the highest allowance here, which suits its Texas fleet that provides several ERCOT grid services (sonnenConnect Texas). About 3,000 customers had joined by early 2026 (sonnen Texas expansion release; ESS News on the sonnen battery-only VPP).
Coverage by state
The matrix shows where each manufacturer documents at least one program on its own pages. A grey dot does not mean a battery is ineligible: many product-agnostic programs accept additional brands through third-party aggregators or installers. The CESA program table is the most complete cross-brand list (CESA VPP programs summary table).
Manufacturer-documented programs by state
Green = at least one program listed on the manufacturer’s pages
Swipe to see the full chart →
Program design at VPP Economics
This page looks at enrollment from the battery’s side. VPP Economics covers the program side: how manufacturer-run programs compare with product-agnostic utility designs, where each sits between event-based demand response and an orchestrated VPP, the share of pay a manufacturer keeps, and program pay compared with grid value. On this site, the VPP Earnings Calculator models ten-year battery payments.
Method and sources
Program terms come from each manufacturer’s own program pages and warranties, checked on the date shown. The state matrix records where a manufacturer documents at least one program; it does not establish ineligibility elsewhere.
Throughput shares assume full participation: a 13.5 kWh Powerwall 3 holding a 20% reserve through 60 three-hour ConnectedSolutions events (648 kWh); a 15 kWh aPower 2 committing 5 kW for 2 hours a day (3,650 kWh); and a 9 kWh PWRcell 2 configuration discharging 80% daily (2,628 kWh). Wear cost divides installed cost by warranted throughput. Losses use the 83% SGIP field average, with charging energy valued at 25¢ per kWh. All payments are gross and are not net profit.
- Tesla virtual power plant programs
- Tesla ConnectedSolutions page
- Tesla DSGS page
- Tesla Powerwall U.S. warranty
- Tesla Electric VPP page
- Enphase grid services programs
- Enphase Green Mountain Power page
- Enphase New York programs page
- Enphase IQ Battery 5P datasheet
- FranklinWH VPP support
- FranklinWH Hawaii BYOD+ page
- FranklinWH SRP page
- FranklinWH aPower 2 datasheet
- SolarEdge 500 MWh VPP announcement
- SolarEdge APS page
- SolarEdge Home Battery 400V datasheet
- Generac California VPP program
- Generac California VPP terms
- Generac ConnectedSolutions page
- Generac Smart Grid Ready
- Generac PWRcell 2 specification sheet
- sonnenCore+ technical specifications
- sonnen Texas expansion release
- sonnenConnect Texas
- ESS News on the sonnen battery-only VPP
- CESA VPP programs summary table
- CPUC SGIP 2019 storage impact evaluation
- EnergySage battery cost data
- VPP Economics
Related
Figures are published specifications, prices, fuel data and program terms checked October 14, 2026. Modeled results are illustrations, not quotes, bids or engineering designs. Program payments are gross, not net profit. Confirm with the manufacturer, installer or program administrator before relying on any figure. ← All Manufacturer Specs