Google Cloud partners up on a 1GW AI-powered virtual power plant in Texas

NRG Energy, Renew Home, and Google Cloud are partnering on a 1GW AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) in Texas.

The respective energy company, VPP company and software giant aim to distribute hundreds of thousands of VPP-enabled smart thermostats by 2035 under the VPP to improve the Texas grid’s resiliency and help households manage and lower their energy costs.

The VPP, enabled by Google Cloud technology, is expected to deliver capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.

To build the VPP, NRG, in partnership with Renew Home, plans to offer Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, including professional installation, at no cost to eligible customers across NRG’s retail electricity providers and plans.

These advanced thermostats make automatic HVAC adjustments to help customers shift their energy use to times when electricity is less constrained, less expensive, and cleaner.

Over time, the parties expect to add devices like batteries and EVs to the VPP, expanding energy savings opportunities for customers.

Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, commented in a release: “This marks a pivotal step forward in our efforts to deliver more value and an enhanced experience to customers while empowering them with our virtual power plant capabilities.”

“By partnering with industry leaders like Renew Home and Google Cloud, we are set to deliver cutting-edge, AI-driven solutions that will bolster grid resilience and contribute to a more sustainable future.”

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The Texas grid

Texas is currently experiencing a significant increase in peak energy demand due to population, load growth, and extreme weather, reaching a demand surge of 85GW in 2023.

Residential VPPs have the potential to provide large, reliable energy resources to help meet these peak demand needs. They work by aggregating numerous, small-scale distributed energy resources like HVAC systems controlled by smart thermostats and home batteries and coordinating them to balance supply and demand.

“As rapid population growth and weather events create new challenges for meeting demand in ERCOT, VPPs can deliver a reliable, flexible and dispatchable energy resource,” added Ben Brown, Renew Home CEO.

“NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program. This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.”

To maximise the impact of the VPP and other strategic initiatives, NRG will embark on a broad multi-year technology transformation with Google Cloud.

Through Google Cloud’s data, analytics, and AI technology, NRG says they will be able to better predict weather conditions, forecast wind and solar generation output, and create predictive pricing models.

Said Michael Clark, president, North America, Google Cloud: “Our collaboration will help Texas meet its growing energy demands and also empower consumers to get more from their energy, smart home, and essential home services in the future.”

NRG and Renew Home expect to roll out their VPP program to Texas customers in the spring of 2025.