Virtual power plants

Virtual power plants

California could cut utility bills with distributed energy. Why isn’t it?

Rooftop solar, batteries, EVs, and smart thermostats could help rein in rising grid costs — if only California could pass policies to make it happen.

By Jeff St. John . 10 September 2024
Virtual power plants

Xcel Minnesota looks to mimic power plants with solar and storage

The utility’s “virtual power plant” proposal taps an emerging model to replace retiring fossil fuel generation, but advocates say the devil is in the details.

By Frank Jossi . 28 August 2024
Distributed energy resources

Houston’s post-Beryl outages highlight benefits of distributed energy

More solar, batteries, and gas microgrids could have helped Houston during last week’s outages. But state leaders and utilities haven’t made them a priority.

By Jeff St. John . 18 July 2024
Virtual power plants

California budget cuts could decimate key virtual-power-plant programs

Governor Gavin Newsom plans to slash funding for batteries and utility customers to help with grid emergencies — but money for fossil fuel generators keeps flowing.

By Jeff St. John . 5 June 2024
Virtual power plants

Four ways virtual power plants can help the US grid keep up with demand

States are starting to experiment with VPPs to boost clean energy capacity on America's overtaxed grid. Experts broke it down at SXSW in Austin.

By Maria Gallucci . 13 March 2024