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The cost of home batteries has fallen as the use of virtual power plants has expanded. These plants aggregate thousands of distributed batteries and operate them as though they were a single power plant. Competition between Tesla and Base Power, along with rising demand for electricity, is prompting utilities to adopt this model more quickly.
The startup Base Power raised a $1 billion Series D funding round, bringing its post-money valuation to $13 billion and accelerating production of its home batteries. The company simultaneously announced the Base Core battery, with a capacity of 39.2 kilowatt-hours, while continuing its operations in Texas and Illinois.