Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits

This briefing from RMI describes the role of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)—aggregations of distributed energy resources like batteries and electric vehicles—in enhancing grid reliability, affordability, and decarbonization, while outlining priorities to scale the market.

• Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) can significantly reduce peak demand in the United States, with potential reductions of 60 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and exceeding 200 GW by 2050.
• VPPs offer economic and environmental benefits, including a potential reduction of annual power sector expenditures by $17 billion in 2030 and the acceleration of decarbonization by reducing the use of polluting power plants and natural gas-fired "peaker" plants.
• To scale the VPP market to hundreds of gigawatts over the next decade, three priorities must be addressed: researching and communicating VPP benefits, developing industry standards and roadmaps, and shaping policy development.

APA

RMI (2023). Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits. https://rmi.org/resources/virtual-power-plants-real-benefits/

Chicago

RMI. Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/virtual-power-plants-real-benefits/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits |date=10 January 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/virtual-power-plants-real-benefits/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023virtual, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Virtual Power Plants, Real Benefits}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/virtual-power-plants-real-benefits/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }