Thrive Collaborative and sonnen are developing Veridian at County Farm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The innovative and sustainable master plan community is aiming to set a new standard for zero-carbon footprint design.
On 14 acres next to Country Farm Park, 170 homes will dot the property including a mix of three-story townhomes, detached single-family, and lofts. Each home will be outfitted with geothermal and advanced electric heat pumps, induction cooking, EV-ready charging, all-electric appliances, rooftop solar arrays, and a sonnen Virtual Power Plant-based intelligent battery system, while the surrounding community itself will mimic natural ecosystems, supporting bees, birds, and other wildlife.
The combined technologies of the cluster of homes will create a cohesive, grid-interactive community. Thrive says that Veridian at the County Farm could avoid 24,750 tons CO₂e over 30 years, which is the equivalent of 2,000-plus cars taken off the road for 30 years.
“Veridian at County Farm is one of the first fully all-electric, fossil fuel-free neighborhoods in the country,” says 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.”
Courtesy Thrive Collaborative
An early resident of Veridian has had an energy bill of $1.30, despite charging an EV at home and it being one of the hottest recorded summers. All the homes are built to work together as a single “clustered” energy system, sonnen points out. Managed by sonnen’s VPP software platform, the system enables the community to stabilize the broader energy grid, offset peak demand, reduce reliance on fossil fuel-powered peaking plants, and contribute to a more sustainability. Thrive Collaborative and sonnen are also currently working with local utilities and the City of Ann Arbor to ensure optimal community benefits.
Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen Inc. USA, says: “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.”
In the last eight years, sonnen has launched a series of innovative VPP structures in master planned single-family home communities throughout the nation. Most recently, the smart energy storage provider launched in Canada at Blatchford Lands, a master planned community on the vanguard of clean energy and carbon neutral living. There are also the recognized Mandalay Homes communities in Northern Arizona and the award-winning Hunters Point by Pearl Homes in Cortez, Florida, and others.
