Google and Voltus target a gigawatt of virtual power plant capacity in PJM

· Energy · United States

Google and California-based firm Voltus announced Thursday that they are pursuing a gigawatt of virtual power plant capacity in PJM Interconnection, the largest US wholesale electricity market. The effort aims to aggregate the energy use of thousands of homes and businesses to free up grid capacity for data centers, which are driving surging demand in the region. Virtual power plants bundle distributed resources such as batteries, smart thermostats and flexible loads and pay participants to shift consumption, offering an alternative to building new generation and transmission. Google has been signing large volumes of clean power and grid-flexibility contracts to support its data center buildout, and the PJM deal extends that strategy into demand-side capacity.

Why it matters：Tech companies' power demand is turning virtual power plants from a niche into a utility-scale resource, reshaping how the largest US grid procures capacity.

Key points

  • The target is one gigawatt of virtual power plant capacity in PJM.
  • The plan aggregates energy use from thousands of homes and businesses.
  • The capacity is meant to free up grid space for data centers.

Sources (original reporting)

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