The Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Advanced Energy Communities (AEC) initiative collaborated with Southern California Edison for developing a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) community in Fontana, CA. The project objective was to demonstrate new solutions that enable cost-effective zero net energy homes and evaluate impacts on the electrical distribution system. EPRI worked alongside SCE, home builders (Meritage Homes), and key technology providers (BIRAenergy) to bring this project to fruition. The long-term objective is to understand how high PV penetration impacts grid operations while addressing California's 2020 ZNE goals and decarbonization initiatives. The specific project goals included:

• Demonstrate new technologies and strategies that enable cost effective ZNE homes and resulting high PV adoption
• Measure the impact of concentrations of ZNE homes on electrical distribution
• Demonstrate how residential energy management systems can balance PV with loads and support power system needs
• Evaluate and demonstrate optimal location of energy storage in ZNE communities (residential vs. neighborhood)
• Develop integrated modeling approach to integrate building and distribution models

The innovations in this project included:

• Demonstration of new technologies, low cost monitoring and residential energy storage
• Analysis of grid impacts using collected photovoltaic, storage, and customer data