Soleil Lofts all-electric residential community named 2019 Project of the Year

SALT LAKE CITY — This week Soleil Lofts in Herriman was named 2019 Project of the Year by Utility Dive, a leading industry news publisher. The award recognizes the top disruptors and innovators - executives, companies, trends and breakthroughs – that are transforming the industry.

Created by a groundbreaking partnership between the Wasatch Group, Rocky Mountain Power, Auric Energy and sonnen, Soleil Lofts is an all-electric residential community.

The project standardizes on-site energy storage in each of the 600 apartments and features a first-of-a-kind network of solar powered battery storage systems, known as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), fully managed by Rocky Mountain Power.

“What truly makes this project special was all the partners agreeing on a common vision and the willingness to work together for the benefit of all. From the utility perspective we are creating a platform where we will be able to operate batteries in a way that allows us to integrate more renewable energy and keep energy costs low, which helps our communities grow sustainably,” said William Comeau, Rocky Mountain Power managing director. 

Residents began moving into the Soleil Lofts apartments in September 2019 as the site is being built out with the final building set to be completed in December of 2020. Upon completion, the Soleil Lofts community will be the largest fully functional virtual power plant using decentralized residential storage systems in the United States.

"The people and organizations that win the Dive Awards are trailblazers and leaders in their markets," said Davide Savenije, editor-in-chief of Utility Dive's publisher Industry Dive. "Their achievements in 2019 are shaping the future of where the latest strategies and trends are going."