Yield Energy has unveiled an agriculture-first distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) designed to transform on-farm operations into reliable, grid-ready energy resources. The launch of Yield Edge DERMS coincides with the company’s rebrand from Polaris Energy Services to Yield Energy, reflecting its transition into a hardware-agnostic energy platform built around a broad AgTech partner ecosystem.
The new platform is specifically designed to unlock energy flexibility from agricultural operations and deliver utility-grade grid services at scale. With more than 200 megawatts of agricultural load already under management—including over 100 megawatts enrolled in California’s agriculture-focused Hourly Flex Pricing (HFP) pilot with PG&E—Yield Energy is positioning farms as an integral part of modern grid operations.
Backed by nearly USD 3 million in funding from the California Energy Commission, the platform has been validated through state-supported programs, demonstrating that agricultural operations can provide automated, dependable, and scalable flexibility without disrupting normal farming practices. This validation allows utilities to confidently integrate agricultural loads into grid planning while enabling growers to generate recurring revenue.
Yield Edge DERMS initially focuses on the orchestration of irrigation pumps and is expanding to manage a full range of on-farm distributed energy resources. These include cold storage facilities, electric vehicle and equipment chargers, solar installations, battery systems, and on-site generation assets. Together, these resources function as fast-responding, clean virtual power plants capable of meeting real-time grid needs.
Commenting on the launch, Yield Energy Chief Executive Officer Tyler Nuss said agriculture has long held untapped potential as a grid partner. He noted that the platform bridges the gap between farm operations and utility requirements, creating new income streams for growers while delivering flexible capacity that is faster, cleaner, and more cost-effective than traditional infrastructure expansion.
The platform integrates with a wide network of AgTech partners, including irrigation, sensing, and automation providers, allowing on-farm equipment to automatically participate in demand response and other grid programs. This seamless integration ensures rapid response times with minimal operational impact on farms.
Performance data from deployments across California highlight the platform’s effectiveness, with enrolled devices achieving full demand response performance, significant load-shifting capability during peak periods, and average annual revenue exceeding USD 20,000 per grower. To date, more than 10,000 on-farm devices have been enabled through the system.
By aligning agricultural energy use with utility demand, Yield Energy is introducing a new category of clean, flexible capacity. Large, responsive farm loads can now support localized grid reliability at a fraction of the cost of new energy storage or infrastructure upgrades, offering a scalable model for utilities while strengthening the economic resilience of agricultural producers.
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