California’s virtual power plant program prevented blackouts and reliance on fossil fuels. Now its future is in jeopardy.
Gov. Newsom pushed off making a decision over the fate of a program to prevent California’s blackouts and lower costs, but now his time to make a decision is running out — and so is the program’s funding.
Ecotopia net-zero community blossoms on former youth prison site
With nature on the forefront and a ban on fossil fuels, a new Michigan mixed-income community is equipped with solar, EV charging, geothermal heat pumps and sustainability in every detail.
Dynamic pricing is superior to virtual power plants, says dynamic pricing pioneer
As California pursues dynamic pricing of electricity to help integrate renewable generation, industry pioneer Edward Cazalet says dynamic pricing can meet California’s demand flexibility needs better than virtual power plants can.
100,000 residential batteries in California tested as one distributed power plant
A statewide test showed how California’s residential batteries could perform routinely when the sun is going down and the grid is challenged.
States see widespread policy efforts to overcome grid issues
The 50 States of Grid Modernization quarterly report from NC Clean Energy Technology Center identified policy trends related to grid modernization across the 2025 legislative session.
MN8 Energy secures $575 million for nearly 1 GW of solar
The company closed its senior secured notes for a distributed and utility-scale solar and storage portfolio with Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking.
Virtual power plants in action: How rules and markets enable (or block) aggregation
The final, third part of this series explores how DERs and Virtual Power Plants are participating in today’s energy markets—including a close look at ISO/RTO-specific programs, qualification requirements, and market rules. We examine how these policies and procedures affect the real-world ability of aggregated DERs to operate as grid resources and the complexity stakeholders face when navigating these systems.
Data is power: Why technology is the backbone of DER integration
Part Two of this three-part series shifts focus from regulatory reform to the technological breakthroughs that make DER participation possible. From the falling cost of microprocessors to the rise of advanced metering infrastructure and predictive analytics, we explore how data, telemetry, and intelligent control systems have become the backbone of the distributed energy economy.
Virtual power plants and the data-driven future of distributed energy
The evolution of energy markets from vertically integrated utilities to open access competitive markets has created a power grid increasingly integrating smaller and more diverse distributed energy resources requiring robust interaction for integration and management.
Sonnen launches virtual power plant in Canadian sustainable home community
As a prototype, the Blatchford Lands VPP begins with 100 Sonnen batteries deployed throughout the community, representing nearly a half a megawatt of power and over 2 megawatt hours of storage capacity that will support the Canadian energy grid.
