Virtual power plants

What kind of virtual power plant would you choose?

Some 200 California households will help design VPPs that prioritize their needs in a Living Laboratory project. The goal: to vastly scale up VPP participation.

By Jeff St. John . 22 October 2026

Photo collage of three houses —with solar panels, heat pump, batteries — connected with lines over a streetscape — (Binh Nguyen/Canary Media; Agile Electrification; Eric Brehm/Unsplash)

Virtual power plants

Google plans big virtual power plant in energy-strapped PJM grid

As it builds out data centers, the tech firm was already planning to pay Voltus for 100 MW of VPP capacity in the region. It just amped its goal up tenfold.

By Jeff St. John . 22 October 2026
Electric vehicles

Tesla is now making more EVs that can double as a home battery

While other vehicle-to-home systems rely on customers installing pricey bidirectional chargers, Tesla embeds the power-conversion hardware in the cars themselves.

By Jeff St. John . 6 October 2026
Virtual power plants

Newsom finally says yes to virtual power plants

California’s outgoing governor approved bills to contain utility spending and allow customers to get paid to let batteries, EVs, and appliances ease grid stress.

By Jeff St. John . 1 October 2026
Virtual power plants

Should we get excited about California’s latest virtual power plant?

Google and PG&E will enlist Silicon Valley homes with batteries and other devices to help the grid. But they’re ignoring the data center elephant in the room.

By Jeff St. John . 23 September 2026
Virtual power plants

California declines to fund its biggest virtual power plant

The Demand Side Grid Support program was given no money for next year, though supporters blocked an effort that could have disbanded the VPP altogether.

By Jeff St. John . 1 September 2026
Virtual power plants

California virtual power plant bills clear key legislative hurdle

Last year, Gov. Newsom vetoed bills promoting home batteries, smart thermostats, and EV chargers to curb energy costs. Will he do the same this year?

By Jeff St. John . 26 August 2026
Virtual power plants

Federal ruling hands virtual power plants a win in PJM

Firms that enlist homes to reduce energy demand — and costs — have long complained that utility data rules prevent them from helping in PJM. FERC agrees.

By Jeff St. John . 13 August 2026
Sponsored

The Missing Link to VPP Success? Customer Knowledge.

A new Franklin Energy report reveals how widespread customer confusion about home energy technologies could limit virtual power plant adoption — and what utilities can do to close the knowledge gap.

6 August 2026
Data centers

PJM’s old way of getting power built isn’t working. Has it found a fix?

Getting data centers to pay for new generation and batteries could be the best hope for the nation’s biggest power market to finally get a handle on costs.

By Jeff St. John . 17 July 2026
Data centers

New Jersey law will let data centers pay for home energy upgrades

In a first, the state could speed up data centers’ grid connection if they bankroll energy-saving residential tech like heat pumps and batteries.

By Alison F. Takemura . 16 July 2026