Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants

This policy brief from RMI argues that Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are a viable solution for utilities and regulators to manage electricity grid stress caused by growing loads and extreme weather during summer peaks.

• Electricity grids face increasing stress during summer periods due to the combination of growing loads and weather that is becoming more unpredictable and extreme.
• To manage summer peaks, utilities and regulators require solutions that are rapidly deployable, utilize existing customer and network assets to control investment and rate pressure, remain adaptable to grid uncertainty, and improve community energy resilience against extreme weather.
• Virtual power plants (VPPs) are proposed as a tool within a broader portfolio of solutions to address grid reliability and affordability.

APA

RMI (2024). Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants. https://rmi.org/resources/meeting-summer-peaks-the-need-for-virtual-power-plants-2/

Chicago

RMI. Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/meeting-summer-peaks-the-need-for-virtual-power-plants-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants |date=24 June 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/meeting-summer-peaks-the-need-for-virtual-power-plants-2/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024meeting, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/meeting-summer-peaks-the-need-for-virtual-power-plants-2/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }