Google and Voltus Expand PJM Virtual Power Plant Deal Tenfold to 1 Gigawatt
By Jeff St. John · · TexaHub · AI in Industry, Technology Trends
Google and Voltus said on October 22 they will build a 1-gigawatt virtual power plant across the PJM grid, a tenfold expansion of a 100-megawatt agreement signed in June.
The Deal
Google and Voltus announced on October 22 an expanded agreement to build a 1-gigawatt virtual power plant spanning the PJM Interconnection region, which serves 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C. The deal builds on a 100-megawatt agreement from earlier this year, a tenfold expansion. [1]
Under the arrangement, Voltus aggregates flexible capacity from local businesses and homes, including smart thermostats, batteries and industrial equipment, into a virtual power plant funded by Google. During peak demand, participating sites temporarily reduce energy use, and customers receive bill savings and cash payments. Google described it as one of the largest known distributed capacity portfolios deployed by a hyperscaler and said the project would bring new capacity to local grids while strengthening regional reliability and affordability. [1]
Commitments and Scale
Voltus is securing commitments from customers to reduce energy use or supply battery power through 2040, well beyond the three-year horizon PJM's capacity auction typically covers. Google has not shared a timeline for the project or its effect on specific data centres. [2]
Voltus manages more than 9 gigawatts of demand response and virtual power plant capacity nationwide, targets 20 gigawatts by 2030, and raised $225 million earlier in October. "The first 100 megawatts was always the first bite," Voltus chief executive Dana Guernsey said. "We were always looking at how we bring this to scale, because scale is what we need." [2]
Data Centre Load on PJM
PJM forecasts that data centres and other large loads will add 30 to 34 gigawatts of new demand by the early 2030s, on a system that recently peaked at 162.6 gigawatts. The cost of securing enough capacity for peak demand in the region has risen more than eightfold in recent years, and federal regulators rejected a PJM plan that would have required new data centres to supply their own capacity or risk being cut off in emergencies. [2]
Ellen Zuckerman, Google's head of energy market development for North and South America, said the deal would "support regional reliability and deliver direct economic benefits to local communities." Guernsey said the model was "creating value for communities, because we're creating new revenues, we're helping them save money." [2]
Sources
[1] Google and Voltus to build 1-gigawatt virtual power plant — Google Blog
[2] Google plans big virtual power plant in energy-strapped PJM grid — Canary Media