Google backs a 1-gigawatt virtual power plant

Google and energy company Voltus announced a much bigger virtual power plant on Thursday. Instead of building one giant facility, Voltus plans to coordinate many smaller resources across the PJM grid. These include batteries, smart thermostats and flexible electricity use at homes and businesses. Those users can reduce demand when the grid is strained and receive payments or bill savings.

The deal adds 1,070 megawatts to an earlier 100-megawatt agreement, making a project of more than one gigawatt in total. Google is funding it as one way to help bring capacity to a grid facing rising demand. It is a contract to assemble resources, not a power plant already delivering that full amount.

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Voltus told Utility Dive it expects to reach full scale over three to four years. The question is how much dependable help those distributed devices actually deliver at peak times.