The THRIVE Collaborative, a property developer, and sonnen, a smart energy storage and virtual power plant (VPP) technology provider, launched Veridian at the County Farm, a zero-carbon, master-planned community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Located on 14 acres adjacent to County Farm Park, Veridian features 170 mixed-income homes designed to operate as a resilient, self-balancing energy ecosystem.
Each home includes geothermal and electric heat pumps for space and water heating; induction cooking, EV-ready charging and all-electric appliances; and sonnen virtual power plant-based battery systems in every home. The development is powered by more than 1.3 MW of rooftop solar arrays.
“Veridian at County Farm is one of the first fully all-electric, fossil fuel-free neighborhoods in the country,” said Matt Grocoff, founder of Thrive Collaborative and FEW Energy. “It’s more than net-zero — it’s a replicable model for how we can decarbonize our homes, stabilize the energy grid, and reimagine what neighborhoods can be. We can be beneficial to the electric grid, rather than a drain on it.”
All Veridian homes are built to work together as a single “clustered” energy system, managed by sonnen’s VPP software platform, with under two-second dispatch response time. This system enables the entire community to stabilize the broader energy grid, offsetting peak demand, reducing reliance on fossil fuel-powered peaking plants and contributing to a more resilient and sustainable energy system for Michigan and beyond.
“What Veridian is poised to achieve, from the perspective of energy system innovation, is truly a first of its kind in Michigan. The Veridian community is capable of interacting intelligently and rapidly with the energy grid as a genuine virtual power plant, reducing
carbon emissions in a manner that substantially surpasses the value of solar alone,” said Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen Inc. USA. “We could not be prouder of what Matt Grocoff and the Thrive Collaborative have accomplished at Veridian. In
addition to providing residents with lower energy costs and enhanced energy security, this special community will serve as a greater blueprint for the future of Michigan’s energy system.”
Over the past eight years, sonnen has launched a series of VPP structures in master-planned single-family home communities throughout North America, including the Mandalay Homes communities in Northern Arizona and Hunters Point by Pearl Homes in Cortez, Florida.
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