German battery maker Sonnen GmbH says it will partner with homebuilder Mandalay Homes to outfit 3,000 new Arizona residences with batteries to store the excess energy generated by their rooftop solar installations. Mandalay plans to build the homes in Prescott.

The companies say the community would be the first of its kind in the U.S. and comes as utilities have been studying the potential benefits of integrating battery storage along distribution grids and decreasing reliance on centralized fossil fuel plants.

Sonnen has several such communities in Germany, but the idea is still a novelty in the United States.

Sonnen has about 1,000 home batteries in the U.S. currently and aims to get to at least 20,000 by 2020.