NEW ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY TOOLS TOGETHER

Virtual Power Plants; Smart Grid Platforms for Aggregating Distributed Renewables, Demand Response, and Energy Storage Technologies
Peter Asmus and Clint Wheelock, 4Q 2011 (Pike Research)

"Growing investments in distributed energy resources – renewable distributed energy generation, demand response (DR), energy storage, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) – will require new business and technology platforms to manage the increased level of diversity and complexity. The increasing variability of both generation (from solar and wind) and loads (due to DR and PEVs) will also require more sophisticated and decentralized decision making…[Therefore,] interest in virtual power plants (VPPs) is gaining significant momentum…"

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"…[T]oday’s most commercially viable VPP is…the ability to tap resources in real time, and with enough granularity, to control the load profiles of customers, aggregate these resources, and put them up on a trader’s desk. Unlike microgrids, utilities will have to play a major role in the evolution of the VPP market, by nature of their reliance upon the transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, including smart meters. While there are several distinct segments within the VPP market, there is currently an explosion of interest in DR-based VPPs, which are expected to continue leading the way in terms of capacity additions…"