From BEDR to best: The emergence and potential of Puerto Rico's VPP market

Puerto Rico has emerged as the hottest VPP market in the US, driven by customer demand for backup power, an emergency capacity deficit, and over $1.1 billion in federal support. This insight examines the new Battery Emergency Demand Response (BEDR) Program pilot that LUMA, the Puerto Rican grid operator, is in the process of launching. The rules, compensation structure and scale of BEDR are compared to other state and utility storage programs in the US, and more generally to other VPPs. The competitive landscape of battery OEMs and installers on the island is also examined, in particular the ability of different players to capture enrollments in BEDR. Finally, the monthly growth in residential storage and solar are presented, as well as the implications of how large a scale the BEDR VPP could reach.