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Simplifying VPPs: The Key to Unlocking Massive Grid Efficiency 🔑⚡ Jigar Shah just dropped some serious wisdom on how to scale VPPs & relieve grid strain. Here's the TLDR: 1️⃣ Keep it simple! One-way VPPs (no backfeeding) can prevent peak overloads without complex infrastructures. Walk before we run! 2️⃣ Align incentives. Solar cos & utilities must unite on the REAL goal: managing massive load growth, not just juicing solar sales. 3️⃣ Leverage IRA funds. $35M per utility for VPP integration is 💰💰💰. Businesses should pounce on this opportunity! 4️⃣ Regulators, step up! Mandating load-scheduling features (think smart thermostats & EV chargers) is a no-brainer for grid health. VPP simplification is the 🗝️ to rapid deployment. Focusing on one-way load management cuts through red tape & bypasses costly bidirectional infrastructure. The biz case is clear: VPPs can help utilities handle MASSIVE electrification without expensive overhauls. That's 💸💸💸 saved on capex! Bonus: Simplified VPPs could throw a lifeline to the flailing solar industry. Packaging VPPs into solar deals may boost margins & help cos weather the NEM 3.0 storm. ❓ But culture is still a hurdle. How can we shift utility mindsets to embrace this "new approach"? What success stories might sway skeptics? #GridModernization #VPPsUnleashed #CleanEnergyCollaboration #SmartGridSolution #LoadGrowthHack https://lnkd.in/gvpPUcSp

Great interview with Jigar Shah on the Catalyst Podcast with Shayle Kann highlighting the simple opportunities for virtual power plans (VPPs) in front of us today: https://lnkd.in/ejyZyVFG Shah makes the important point that while distributed, demand-side VPPs will play a crucial role in the energy transition, to scale they need to become much simpler and more reliable. In the short term, that means focusing on VPPs primarily as "an energy efficiency play" that leverages the unique load-shifting potential of different measures like heat pumps or electric vehicles.  We couldn't agree more with this timely message! Join RMI and the Flex Coalition for a webinar next week on the intersection of VPPs and the IRA’s home energy rebates, June 12th from 2-3 Eastern time. Industry stakeholders and policy experts will discuss how this federal investment in energy efficiency can enhance flexibility and create more resilient and responsive homes for a VPP future. Webinar – Saving Money and Supporting the Grid: How IRA Home Energy Rebates Enable Virtual Power Plants Thursday, June 13 2-3 p.m. ET Register: https://lnkd.in/eFCiSWPP Carmen Best Avery McEvoy, EIT David Hunter Kara Saul Rinaldi Stacey Paradis Maeve Allsup #virtualpowerplants #energyefficiency #ira 

The future of our power grids lie in the hands of innovative solutions like virtual power plants (#VPPs). Amidst massive load growth on utilities, VPPs offer a pathway to leverage distributed assets for greater efficiency, reduced infrastructure needs, and a revitalized #solar industry. Jigar Shah, of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), recently shared that simplifying VPPs to a one-way power flow can quickly scale their implementation, making the most of our existing #grid and preparing us for a cleaner energy future. At Sunnova Energy, we are leading the charge in VPP innovation. Our expanded network across California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Texas is transforming how we manage energy. By enabling rapid access to stored battery power during peak demand and sending excess back to the grid when possible, we reduce strain and minimize blackouts. Our VPPs offer increased reliability, reduced emissions, and lower costs, supporting both the grid and our customers. The future of energy services is here. More from Latitude Media.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are essential for balancing the grid during peak times without relying on polluting peaker plants. However, adoption is lagging. In an interview with Shayle Kann, Jigar Shah, director of the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, advocates simplifying VPPs by focusing initially on shifting energy usage during peak times rather than as two-way assets. This approach could accelerate VPP scaling, leaving the more complex issues for another day. Resistance to change remains a barrier. Shah notes, "Everyone's first choice is to do things exactly how we do them now. At some point, you have to suggest that we need a new approach." VPPs are that new approach. https://lnkd.in/ejyZyVFG #CoolingGlobalWarming #EnergyStorage #VPPs #renewables #TES #decarbonization

US VPPs can meet summer demand peaks faster, cheaper than new generation and transmission: RMI .... The more than 500 VPPs operational in the United States can help address summer peaks in 2024, while new VPPs can be online in time for summer 2025, RMI said. Virtual power plants can affordably and reliably help to meet summer electricity demand on a U.S. grid that’s increasingly vulnerable to supply disruptions during extreme heat waves, RMI said in a report released earlier this month. The more than 500 U.S. VPPs in operation today can be dispatched to meet summer grid needs in 2024, and new VPPs can be planned and deployed in as little as six to 12 months, making them available as soon as next summer, RMI said. Regional grids face even greater risks in the near future if utilities’ expectations for near-term demand growth bear out, RMI said. Grid planners expect peak demand growth of 38 GW through 2028, mostly driven by new manufacturing, industrial and data center facilities, Grid Strategies said in December. U.S. utilities can meet resource adequacy needs and avoid $15 billion to $35 billion in conventional investments over 10 years by deploying 60 GW of VPP capacity. TNi Energy-BESS 1.20MW 10HR LDES, we've innovated a groundbreaking method that repurposes recycled lead-acid batteries, extending their life span to 20 years for energy storage purposes. Previously, the industry lacked a safe and environmentally conscious alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, our proprietary technique reveals that lead-acid batteries are not only safer but also 50-60% more cost-effective than their hazardous counterparts. #TNiEnergy,#10HRLDES,#ELDES,#C1toC20,#nebulositycloud, #BESS,#C3Energy,#Energy, #ZEROemmissions, #ZEROcarbon, #energytransistion, #LeadAcid Battery, #windpower, #solarpower, #VPP, #MicroGrid, #DERM

US VPPs can meet summer demand peaks faster, cheaper than new generation and transmission: RMI .... The more than 500 VPPs operational in the United States can help address summer peaks in 2024, while new VPPs can be online in time for summer 2025, RMI said. Virtual power plants can affordably and reliably help to meet summer electricity demand on a U.S. grid that’s increasingly vulnerable to supply disruptions during extreme heat waves, RMI said in a report released earlier this month. The more than 500 U.S. VPPs in operation today can be dispatched to meet summer grid needs in 2024, and new VPPs can be planned and deployed in as little as six to 12 months, making them available as soon as next summer, RMI said. Regional grids face even greater risks in the near future if utilities’ expectations for near-term demand growth bear out, RMI said. Grid planners expect peak demand growth of 38 GW through 2028, mostly driven by new manufacturing, industrial and data center facilities, Grid Strategies said in December. U.S. utilities can meet resource adequacy needs and avoid $15 billion to $35 billion in conventional investments over 10 years by deploying 60 GW of VPP capacity. TNi Energy-BESS 1.20MW 10HR LDES, we've innovated a groundbreaking method that repurposes recycled lead-acid batteries, extending their life span to 20 years for energy storage purposes. Previously, the industry lacked a safe and environmentally conscious alternative to lithium-ion batteries. However, our proprietary technique reveals that lead-acid batteries are not only safer but also 50-60% more cost-effective than their hazardous counterparts. #TNiEnergy,#10HRLDES,#ELDES,#C1toC20,#nebulositycloud, #BESS,#C3Energy,#Energy, #ZEROemmissions, #ZEROcarbon, #energytransistion, #LeadAcid Battery, #windpower, #solarpower, #VPP, #MicroGrid, #DERM

Love this perspective from Jigar Shah and heartened to see his focus on Virtual Power Plants as a key enabler for energy transition. In addition to simplifying the value proposition for the customers, we can also simplify the value proposition for utilities. While VPPs can provide many services to the grid (capacity, regulation etc), the simplest opportunity is to use them to create peak capacity where billions of dollars are paid to fossil-fuel generators (often times diesel) to just be around in a stand-by mode. These low capacity factor fossil-fuel plants are 10x more expensive and polluting than even an average fossil plant and can be easily replaced by VPPs today while saving money for rate-payers (ie all customers of utilities, whether they directly participate in VPPs or not). Further, VPPs create jobs and spur investment in local communities while bringing additional resilience to these communities. These co-benefits should be recognized and paid for through appropriate policy interventions to improve the overall value proposition.

In this week's #EnergyTransition we look at: ⚡ 300MW of assets to be admitted into the Balancing Mechanism; ⚡ New arrangements to restore the power grid; ⚡ National Grid's call for adjustments in supply chain contracts; and ⚡ streamlined regulations for EV chargepoints.   #BalancingMechanism #Ofgem #EVcharging #EnergyTransition

Utilities and grid operators will continue to pass costs to their ratepayers. Many of these costs come from poor long-term investments in upgrading infrastructure, over time combined with more energy demand and a larger mix of energy sources. The only way to fix your energy costs long term and decarbonize is on site microgrid solutions. Let me know if you would like to save money on energy costs and decarbonize at the same time. From the article: The main driver for the rate increase in the BGE zone are the RMR contracts for Talen’s Brandon Shores and Wagner power plants, which the company had planned to retire in mid-2025, according to the report. Under the contracts, the power plants will continue operating until transmission lines are built to address the area’s reliability issues — which PJM expects will occur by the end of 2028. Power plants with RMR contracts don’t participate as supply-side resources in capacity auctions, which reduced the amount of available capacity in the BGE zone and drove up capacity prices there, according to Synapse. The RMR contracts for the Talen power plants likely drove up capacity prices across PJM by about $5 billion, Synapse said. #energycost #microgrid #vpp #carbonneutral https://lnkd.in/gizfHX-k

A distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) provider, in partnership with Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), has enrolled more than 100,000 homes in the Save on Energy Peak Perks program in six months to create what they’re calling the largest residential virtual power plant (VPP) in Canada. #renewables #power #energy #wind #offshore #onshore #solar #hydropower #floating #nuclear #geothermal #efficiency #transition #susteinability #circular #economy #esg #clean #decarbonization #electrification #climate #hydrogen #mobility #greensteel #ammonia #transportation #storage #fuelcell #smartgrid #der #powersystem #generation #transmission #distribution #electricity #machines #drives #sensors #iot #education #engineering #innovation #entrepreneurship #creativity #technology