Want free solar panels? This startup can help

The useful part

It pays to install solar and batteries across a network of homes, then sells power back to the grid at peak moments. Homeowners get free equipment, and their electric bills can drop by 60%-80% while they use it. At times when the grid is under the most strain, utilities can tap into the network and avoid using polluting gas "peaker" plants.

How it works

• Rather than relying on homes that already have solar and batteries, it owns the equipment itself, allowing it to build out the network faster and reach many more homes.
• "We're going through one of the largest energy infrastructure buildouts of our lifetime," says Resilience Energy's CEO, Ameet Konkar, who previously led sustainability at Airbnb.
• That's the core principle that we've built Resilience on." A new type of distributed utility Virtual power plants, which tap into batteries and other energy tech at homes to help the grid, are gaining traction.
• "One of the benefits of this model is that everyone qualifies, including low and moderate incomes," Konkar says.
• As it builds lists of property owners who want to participate in an area—aggregating groups that range fr...

What to take from it

The company, which launched last year and is still in the pre-seed capital stage, has also started partnering with rental property owners who might not have invested in solar in the past because renters, not owners, see the financial benefits on electric bills.

Details worth keeping

years, thanks to permitting and grid connection delays. Resilience is putting a new spin on the model.