"The decentralized power systems are playing a growing role in the transition away from fossil fuels."
"An executive order in Massachusetts and a regulatory commission action in Minnesota are among the big moves this year that highlight the growing role of virtual power plants in grid management.
A virtual power plant, or VPP, is a network of resources that a central controller can call upon to send power to the grid or to reduce demand on it. Examples include batteries in homes and businesses as well as factories that can ramp down their power use when needed.
With a few clicks, hundreds or thousands of points in a network can behave like a power plant, with compensation for the resource owners. It’s a cheaper and cleaner way to provide short-term electricity than the main alternatives, such as natural gas peaker plants."
