Business
Sunrun Builds the Nation’s Largest Distributed Power Plant After Quintupling Customer Participation in 2025
Sunrun scales the nation’s largest distributed power plant with 400% growth, 17 programs, major partnerships, and record grid dispatches as AI-driven
About this update from Sunrun Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Sunrun scales the nation’s largest distributed power plant with 400% growth, 17 programs, major partnerships, and record grid dispatches as AI-driven electricity demand surges\nSAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With rising electricity costs, growing risk of power outages, and a widening gap between power supply and demand, Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), America’s largest provider of home battery storage, solar, and home-to-grid power plants, rapidly delivered new, dispatchable energy to the grid at scale and at speed. In 2025, customer participation in Sunrun’s distributed power plant programs grew more than fivefold, transforming the business into one of the largest sources of flexible, dispatchable energy in the country. Sunrun dispatched nearly 18 gigawatt-hours of energy from batteries to support grids across America—enough electricity to power 15 million homes for one hour—with a combined peak output of 416 megawatts, a capacity greater than many fossil-fuel peaker plants. “Sunrun’s distributed power plants hit scale at exactly the same time grid operators needed help meeting energy demand,” said Sunrun CEO Mary Powell. “It was a record-breaking year, both in terms of U.S. power demand and Sunrun’s ability to deliver large amounts of energy to grids across the country quickly, reliably, and at lower cost.” More than 106,000 Sunrun customers were enrolled in Sunrun’s 17 distributed power plant programs in 2025, a dramatic increase from approximately 20,000 the year prior. At least one program dispatched every day throughout the year, totalling more than 1,300 dispatches across all programs. These dispatches supported grids during critical hours and helped avoid power outages while putting downward pressure on energy costs for all ratepayers. Grid operators across the country are sounding the alarm as electricity demand—driven by AI, data centers, electrification, and extreme weather—outpaces new generation. ICF projects U.S. electricity demand will rise 25% by 2030, compared to 2023 levels. Last summer, PJM Interconnection, the largest power grid operator in the U.S., narrowly avoided rotating outages during a heatwave and is now facing record-high capacity prices amid supply shortages. “The warning signs for our nation’s power grid are flashing,” said Sunrun President and Chief Revenue Officer Paul Dickson. “Demand fo...