First vehicle-to-home power plant in US uses Ford F-150 Lightning electric trucks

American solar and battery giant Sunrun has activated what it says is the country’s first ever residential vehicle-to-grid (V2G) distributed power plant using a handful of Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks (better known as a ‘ute’ in Australia).

Sunrun is America’s largest provider of home battery storage, solar, and home-to-grid power plants, and in July, 2024 announced the creation of a small pilot vehicle-to-home (V2H) program which included three Sunrun customers and all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks to deliver power to their owners’ homes during the summer peak demand times.

The program utilised the three F-150 Lightnings, the Ford Charge Station Pro designed specifically for customers wanting home backup power, and the Home Integration System co-developed by Ford and Sunrun.

Fast-forward a year, and Sunrun says it has now expanded the initiative to begin dispatching energy from the F-150 Lightnings to the grid.

This marks America’s first residential bidirectional electric vehicle distributed power plant and is designed to dispatch energy to the grid during periods of peak demand.

“This demonstrates the critical role that vehicle batteries can play in powering the nation’s grid, accelerating American energy independence and dominance,” said Mary Powell, Sunrun CEO.

“It’s great to see our partnership with BGE and Ford move to this commercial stage. In addition to showing how electric vehicles can power homes, add electrons to the grid, and help utilities meet peak electricity demand, this program also creates extra income opportunities for customers.”

While Sunrun only announced this next phase of its pilot program last week, the system has been dispatching energy to the grid between the hours of 5-9pm on weekdays since July, earning the handful of participating customers a payment based on the amount of energy they pumped back into the grid.

“Educating customers that their electric vehicles have the potential to save—and even earn—them money all while parked at home is a game-changer,” said Bill Crider, senior director, global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company.

“Enabling customers to not only power their homes but send power directly back to the grid in times of need helps customers with financial incentives, utilities with more power capacity, and society through more grid reliability and sustainable energy practices. It’s a win-win for everyone.”