An Introduction to Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)

Virtual power plants (VPPs) have the potential to help meet rising electricity demand while saving billions of dollars annually in avoided costs. A VPP is a network of distributed energy resources that work together to support the electric grid while providing important services to the community. Instead of relying on a single large power plant, VPPs coordinate many smaller, customer-side resources—such as solar, batteries, EVs, smart appliances, and flexible commercial loads—to deliver energy services cheaply, cleanly, and quickly.

This Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) webinar will cover the basics of VPPs and how they can create value for both utilities and customers. Webinar panelists Adam Warren, Senior Advisor at Luminate LLC and author of CESA’s forthcoming VPPs 101 guide, and Todd Olinsky-Paul, Senior Project Director at CESA, will explain how VPPs operate, highlight key policy design considerations for states, and discuss the current U.S. VPP landscape. The presentation will be followed by questions and discussion from the audience. CESA Project Director Nate Hausman will moderate the discussion.

This webinar is a presentation of the VPP Acceleration Initiative. The Initiative helps states, local governments, communities, and financial institutions deploy and scale VPPs—advancing affordability, strengthening resilience and grid reliability, and supporting decarbonization. This initiative is led by CESA, Clean Energy Group (CEG), and World Resources Institute (WRI).