OK here’s something big on the battery front : an Austin startup, Base Power, just raised $1B to put big home energy storage batteries everywhere. Link enough of those together into a local energy network and you you start reshaping the grid from a one-way highway into a flexible neighborhood network (aka “microgrid”). Texas is already testing this through ERCOT’s ADER (Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource)  program and utility pilots. The upside: resilience and lower peak costs. The friction: interconnection rules, data/telemetry, fair compensation, and who’s in charge during an emergency. ERCOT+3Business Wire+3TechCrunch+3

Base Power raised $1B (Series C) to expand affordable whole-home battery backup and manufacturing in Texas. Their model pairs below-market retail power with 25-50 kWh batteries. Sizes that can cover a typical home for hours to days and, crucially, participate in grid services when aggregated. Business Wire+1

Changing the “shape” and function of the grid

In just two years, the company says it’s sold 100+ MWh of residential storage in Texas -already the scale where aggregation begins to act like a small power plant. TechCrunch

Why it’s structural, not just another funding headline: When tens of thousands of homes each carry a battery, the topology of the grid changes. The edge can now support the center -smoothing peaks, riding through outages, and even selling services back to the market as a “virtual power plant” (VPP). DOE calls VPPs a cost-effective way to meet near-term grid needs. Smart Energy Decisions

The rapid emergence of  VPPs in Texas and beyond

Texas is running one of the country’s most important DER (“distributed energy resource”) and smart energy storage aggregation experiments: ERCOT’s ADER Pilot, which lets fleets of small devices (like home batteries) bid into the wholesale market as a single resource. The program moved into Phase 3 this summer, expanding participation pathways. ERCOT+1

You can already see it in the wild:

• Tesla Electric VPP (ERCOT pilot): Powerwall owners pool capacity to provide grid services. Tesla

• GVEC × Tesla: A “first-in-Texas” utility-scale VPP program with enrollment incentives for homeowners. MySA+1

• Bandera Electric Cooperative (Hill Country) × Base Power: Leasing whole-home batteries to members, designed to support both backup and grid value. PR Newswire

What this unlocks:

• Peak shaving without new peaker plants

• Fast, local resilience when a line trips or a storm hits

• Price stability by shifting demand and exporting during scarcity

Could neighborhood-scale microgrids emerge?

Short answer: yes –in two ways.

1. Virtual microgrids (software-defined): homes remain connected to the larger grid but operate as a coordinated fleet via ADER/VPP programs. This is the path of least resistance today. ERCOT

2. Physical community microgrids (hardware-bounded): campus, critical facilities, or neighborhoods that can island. Texas just approved ~$1.8B for a statewide microgrid program focused on critical sites (hospitals, water, emergency services), with many projects capped around ≤2.5 MW for speed and replication. That funding primes the supply chain, know-how, and standards needed for community-scale projects that can eventually trickle into residential developments. Canary Media+1

I’ve written fairly extensively on this topic in recent months. Take a deeper dive on VPP’s and microgrids here

What resistance or friction should we expect?

Even as energy strorage aggregation scales and gains traction, three layers of pushback typically show up:

1. Distribution safety & capacity: Utilities need high-fidelity telemetry and control so fleets don’t overload local lines or backfeed unsafely. ERCOT’s Phase-3 ADER rules lean into better definitions of controllability and participation models. ERCOT

2. Market design & compensation: In most U.S. markets, FERC Order 2222 requires RTOs to let DER fleets compete; ERCOT is largely outside FERC’s jurisdiction, so Texas is building its own framework (ADER). Expect debates over double compensation, performance baselines, and who gets paid for which service. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission+2ProMarket+2

3. Retail & customer protection: Clear disclosures (backup vs grid services), opt-in control, and data privacy/cybersecurity are table stakes -especially when third-party aggregators can dispatch devices during scarcity events. (Texas consumer-protection and interconnection rules -e.g., PUCT §25.211/25.217- form the scaffolding for safe DER growth.) Public Utility Commission of Texas

None of these are deal-breakers; they’re design problems. Texas is iterating fast -shifting the ADER pilot into ERCOT’s stakeholder process and expanding it to more resource types and participation models. Utility Dive+1

What to watch next (near-term signals)

• Builder & co-op partnerships: When batteries come standard in new homes or are leased at scale by co-ops, aggregation grows predictably. (GVEC, Bandera, Lennar pilots are early markers.) MySA+2MySA+2

• Manufacturing in Texas: Domestic plants compress lead times and costs; Base says it will expand U.S. manufacturing tied to this raise. Business Wire

• ADER Phase-3 outcomes: Look for broader device eligibility, simpler telemetry, and pathways from pilot to full market rules. ERCOT

• Microgrid grants: Awards under the new state program -especially community-adjacent projects (water, communications, shelters)- will seed local expertise that can spill over into neighborhood designs. Canary Media

We’re huge proponents for battery energy storage -and the new wave of battery strorage aggregation approaches being spun up here inn Texas and around the world!