WASHINGTON: On Tuesday, solar energy producers and companies like GM, Ford, and Google said they would collaborate to set standards for increasing the use of virtual power plants (VPPs), which are systems that ease the load on electricity grids when supply is low.
According to the companies, the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3) initiative, which will also aim to shape policy to promote the use of the systems, will be hosted by the energy transition nonprofit RMI.
Virtual power plants combine tens of thousands of decentralized energy resources, such as electric cars and smart thermostat-controlled electric heaters.
They use cutting-edge software with customers’ permission to respond to power shortages by switching thousands of household batteries, like those in electric vehicles, from charge to discharge mode or telling appliances that use electricity, like water heaters, to cut back.
The 2021 Inflation Reduction Act has created or expanded tax incentives for electric cars, electric water heaters, solar panels, and other devices whose output and consumption can be coordinated to smooth grid load. As a result, VPPs are poised for explosive growth in the United States.
