To Solve The Unpredictability Of Renewable Energy, Startup Wants To Turn Your Home Appliances Into Batteries

As the use of renewable energy in New England grows, the region has to face up to one of its major challenges.

You can't control when the sun shines or the wind blows. As a result, sometimes extra renewable energy is produced that just gets dumped. Or a wind plant is told to power down.

This week we're airing a series of reports on the ways in which New England gets its energy from renewable resources. In part three, Vermont Public Radio's Kathleen Masterson reports on how an appliance in your basement — the water heater — might be used for energy storage.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative.