All around the globe, aging power grids are stretched to the limit, and growing demand for electrification is expected to add even more strain. This means that maximizing every electron of energy generated is essential to meet demand. One emerging concept that can help us realize the efficiencies we need is the virtual power plant.

Virtual power plants, or VPPs, are networks of utility-scale energy resources working together as a single power plant, orchestrated by digital technologies that can dispatch those precious electrons wherever they are needed.

Individual system operators and utilities have already seized on the concept at a small scale when they reach behind the meter to integrate into the grid surplus energy from rooftop solar panels, electric car charging stations, and local microgrids.

VPPs have far more technical potential. Now we have the technology, through software and hardware, to interconnect large-scale power generators into regional VPPs that can draw on multiple energy sources to optimize energy use and seamlessly balance the grid as demand ebbs and flows — a virtual internet of energy.

Imagine a utility with a gas turbine plant. The turbine can’t run 24/7 because of emissions restrictions. Another customer on the same grid interconnection has a wind plant that produces energy only when the wind blows. Nearby, there’s a huge solar farm that produces energy only during the day. Then there’s an energy storage facility that discharges energy via the same grid interconnect whenever it’s needed. If we connect these different assets through controllers and software that work together to balance and stabilize the grid, and if we create a system in which these disparate assets can communicate with one another, we have created a VPP. The gas turbine can idle when the sun shines or the wind blows, energy can be routed from multiple sources during times of peak demand, and we can integrate more renewables, allowing us to make the best use of every electron.

Now take it to the next level. Imagine several system operators each with a set of linked power generation assets. The same technology can link the multi-asset systems to one another. The controllers and orchestration software can match the ebb and flow of demand with the optimal combination of energy sources, drawing down solar or wind whenever and wherever it’s available and switching to gas when solar and wind are not available — but on an industrial scale.

Such a holistic approach adds energy to the grid by maximizing the use of every electron. Interconnected systems communicating in real time can draw renewable energy from multiple sources, helping to minimize the use of fuels that generate carbon emissions, and, in the event of a grid disruption, a VPP can call up energy from elsewhere to fill the gap. This can ensure that the supply of electricity always meets the demand, which is a win for power producers, consumers, and our goals of getting to net zero.

There’s a benefit for each system operator, too, because this approach allows them to run their gas turbine, their wind farm, or their solar array at times when they otherwise would not. It could improve revenue for the utility and optimize the energy that’s getting on the grid, all enabled through better software and controls.

GE Vernova’s Solar and Storage Solutions, for example, has developed a power plant controller coupled with software, called FLEXIQ, that can link multiple energy assets, whether it’s different colocated power producers, such as a wind turbine and a solar array on the same piece of land, or multiple power assets at different locations operated by various GE Vernova customers.

As more utilities adopt these technologies, they are approaching a critical mass that can make a large-scale VPP possible. Instead of looking at each power asset in isolation, they can now see the entirety of the power landscape. That 10,000-foot view enables power companies to maximize every asset at the most opportune time, whether it’s fueled by sun, wind, batteries, or gas.

Taken to a gigawatt scale, these efficiencies could ultimately make our energy more sustainable, reliable, and affordable while putting every available electron to work to reach our net zero targets.

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