Executive Summary

To meet climate goals, all U.S. residential buildings need comprehensive upgrades to eliminate pollution. However, existing approaches that rely on families paying up-front costs or taking on debt fail to reach over half the population -- renters and low- and moderate-income households. The First Statewide Virtual Power Plant project will partner with utilities to scale the proven Pay As You Save (PAYS) system that enables energy upgrades to pay for themselves, with no credit check, debt, or up-front cost. Building on momentum in states already pursuing PAYS, the project will accelerate ramp-ups in each, and then run a full-scale implementation in one – upgrading half of all homes statewide by 2030 and connecting them into the first statewide virtual power plant that can be replicated nationally. Through this project, America’s utilities become drivers of decarbonization and equitable engines of transition to clean energy communities.