Energy storage startup Base Power began selling its massive home battery systems to residents of Illinois yesterday, Canary Media reported. Crucially, it’ll be the startup’s first foray into the grid territory operated by PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid operator by territory, and one that has particularly struggled to cope with an onslaught of new data centers.
Beyond Illinois, PJM’s territory includes Northern Virginia, one of the densest data center regions on the planet. That density, coupled with a paucity of new generating sources, has caused wholesale electricity prices in PJM to nearly double over the past year. The power crunch has gotten so bad that AEP, one of the region’s largest utilities, has threatened to leave the market.
