Sunverge & sonnen among 14 to join virtual power plant initiative Wireless communication and networking
As Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) continue to prove their value, not only for business but for the grid, Rocky Mountain Institute’s virtual power plant initiative has announced 14 new members added to its ranks.
VPPs are portfolios comprised of hundreds or thousands of households and businesses that offer the latent potential of their electric vehicles (EVs), smart thermostats, appliances, batteries, solar arrays and additional energy assets to support the grid.
The Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3) is an initiative based at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) that works to catalyse industry and transform policy to support scaling VPPs in ways that help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonisation by overcoming barriers to VPP market growth.
On Wednesday, May 31, RMI announced 14 new members have joined the initiative: Autogrid, Camus Energy, CPower, Elexity, eleXsys Energy, EnergyHub, Fortress Power, Leap, NRG, Qcells, sonnen, Sunverge Energy Inc. and Swell Energy.
“Virtual power plants are this century’s greatest untapped energy resource and are already providing essential grid services by reducing peak power demand and improving resilience in a world of increasingly extreme climate events,” said Mark Dyson, managing director of RMI’s Carbon-Free Electricity program.
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VP3 members span the automotive, building, energy service, software and other sectors. With the guidance and support of its members, VP3 is working toward a future where businesses, households and communities are empowered through VPPs, which can help to support cost-effective energy, emissions reductions and a more resilient electricity grid.
The VP3 initiative works to:
- Catalogue, research and communicate VPP benefits
- Develop industry-wide best practices, standards and roadmaps
- Inform and shape policy development
“The fact that VP3 members represent some of the most important segments of the US economy really speaks to the potential for virtual power plants.” said Mike Grenier, president of Elexity.
“VP3’s plans to accelerate VPP adoption is exactly what’s needed to highlight our industry’s progress to date, communicate the power of VPPs to a diverse stakeholder audience and demonstrate that the grid-edge technology is reliable and ready for massive growth in the coming years.” said Brady Klein, senior manager, market development at EnergyHub.
“We believe the group will enable utilities and RTOs/ISOs to cost effectively use DER aggregations to help enhance grid stability and promote decarbonization of the power sector,“ said Brian London, VP of energy services, Fortress Power.
Originally published on Power-Grid International.
