GM, Ford, Google partner to promote 'virtual' power plants
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[January 10, 2023] By
Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Companies including GM, Ford, Google and solar
energy producers said on Tuesday they would work together to establish
standards for scaling up the use of virtual power plants (VPPs), systems
for easing loads on electricity grids when supply is short.
Energy transition nonprofit RMI will host the initiative, the Virtual
Power Plant Partnership (VP3), which will also aim to shape policy for
promoting the use of the systems, the companies said.
Virtual power plants pool together thousands of decentralized energy
resources like electric vehicles or electric heaters controlled by smart
thermostats.
With permission from customers, they use advanced software to react to
electricity shortages with such techniques as switching thousands of
households' batteries, like those in EVs, from charge to discharge mode
or prompting electricity-using devices, such as water heaters, to back
off their consumption.
VPPs are positioned for explosive growth in the United States, where the
2021 Inflation Reduction Act has created or enlarged tax incentives for
electric cars, electric water heaters, solar panels and other devices
whose output and consumption can be coordinated to smooth grid load.
RMI estimates that by 2030, VPPs could reduce U.S. peak demand by 60
gigawatts, the average consumption of 50 million households, and by more
than 200 GW by 2050.
"Virtual power plants will enable grid planners and grid operators to
(better manage) growing electricity demand from vehicles, from buildings
and from industry, and make sure that the grid can stay reliable even in
the face of ongoing extreme weather challenges and aging physical
infrastructure," said Mark Dyson, managing director with the carbon-free
electricity program at RMI.
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A view of the Google logo on a temporary
house during CES 2023, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
Rob Threlkeld, director of global energy strategy at General Motors,
told Reuters that VP3 would be able to "show that EVs can become a
reliable asset to the retail utility and or the retail transmission
operator" and "can be an asset to a homeowner and to fleet
customers."
VPPs have already improved grid reliability in such countries as
Germany and Australia and in some U.S. states.
During an extreme heat wave last August, wholesale market operator
California Independent System Operator avoided blackouts by calling
on all available resources, including VPPs, to dispatch electricity.
Google Nest smart thermostats contributed to easing the load.
"That is increasingly going to be required to make sure that the
grid remains resilient, that we avoid blackouts and that we enable
the grid to become cleaner and greener," said Parag Chokshi,
director of Google's Nest Renew.
Other founding members of VP3 include Ford, SunPower and Sunrun.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Bradley Perrett)
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