A Google data centre in Council Bluffs, Iowa, US
As such, initiatives that focus on improving efficiency and unlocking wasted energy are huge priorities for companies right now.
Google has already done similar things with its own infrastructure. To date, the company’ s independent utility agreements have unlocked approximately 1GW of demand response capacity across various US power systems. The deal with Voltus extends that philosophy, pulling in community-level assets that sit well beyond the data centre fence.
The broader opportunity The notion of making the most of the energy in the grid is very attractive to consumers and companies alike. A Brattle Group analysis, cited by both Google and Voltus, found that
US consumers could save more than US $ 100bn over the next decade by better utilising the grid’ s existing through solutions like VPPs.
Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, sees the potential of virtual power plants as a huge opportunity for communities, as well as her company.
“ This is a transformative model because it creates new, clean capacity for the system and channels investment directly into local communities by paying participating homes and businesses for their energy flexibility,” she recently wrote on LinkedIn.
At 100MW per year, the deal is modest relative to hyperscale demand. However, should the three-year contract yield positive results, Google and the other hyperscalers will doubtless be ready to double down on VPPs.
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