For years, virtual power plants (VPPs) were viewed as a novel technology challenge. What was lacking, however, was the urgency to develop the experience and the tools needed to scale them into a trusted pillar of the resource mix. Things have changed. Utilities across the nation are struggling to meet rapid load growth driven by electrification and AI-powered data centers while continuing to deliver affordable, reliable energy. At the same time, new policy mandates and regulatory activity are accelerating the need to scale distributed energy resources. VPPs are uniquely positioned to help address these challenges, but realizing their full value requires new operating models, technologies, and approaches to customer participation. This playbook offers a solution. You’ll learn: How VPPs deliver benefits beyond affordability and reliability. The factors standing in the way of VPP scale and impact. Five steps utilities can take to build scalable, high-impact VPP programs.
