US utilities can leverage VPPs to save billions, Google-commissioned report finds

By Jonathan Touriño Jacobo
May 5, 2023
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

As distributed energy resources (DER) such as residential solar rooftop increase in the next decade, their aggregation into virtual power plants (VPPs) could save US utilities up to US$35 billion, according to a study from consultancy The Brattle Group.

A key finding of the study – which was prepared for tech giant Google – outlines the net cost for utilities to provide resources from a VPP would be between 40-60% of the cost of alternative options and thus by deploying 60GW of VPP could both meet US resource adequacy and save between US$15-35 billion in the next decade.

The reliability of a VPP leveraged through residential load flexibility is equal to conventional resources and is able to contribute at a similar scale to resource adequacy.

One of the main drivers for the increased deployment of VPPs will be due to the growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the US within the next decade, customers allowing a utility or an aggregator to manage it.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Solar residential rooftop is expected to reach a total capacity of 83GW in the US by the end of the decade, up from the current 27GW, while BTM batteries are expected to increase by more than tenfold from 2GW currently to 27GW in 2030, according to Brattle Group.

To read the full version of this story, visit PV Tech.

See more of Energy-Storage.news’ coverage of virtual power plants here.

Read Next

October 27, 2025
The Emirati state-owned renewables developer Masdar has begun construction on a giant solar-plus-storage project in Abu Dhabi.
October 23, 2025
A pension fund will join the EBRD and EU Modernisation Fund in investing around €16 million (US$18.5 million) in a project on Croatia pairing large-scale BESS and a VPP.
October 23, 2025
Tetchi Capellan, a pioneer of solar PV in the Philippines, discusses the country’s crucial turning point in its adoption of energy storage.
October 20, 2025
The non-profit Energy Policy Design Institute (EPDI) has launched the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Convergence Project, with an advisory group that includes Jigar Shah, former director of the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.
October 17, 2025
The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved Ark Energy’s 3,148MWh Richmond Valley solar-plus-storage project in Australia.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter