Google and Voltus announce 1 GW PJM virtual power plant
Google and Voltus announced an agreement to fund a roughly 1-gigawatt virtual power plant on the PJM grid, providing capacity for Google's operations as the company expands its data-center footprint. The Next Web reports that the deal adds 1,070 MW to the 100 MW the companies agreed in June, with Voltus aggregating spare capacity from participating homes and businesses. During grid strain, those sites can reduce consumption through batteries, smart thermostats, industrial-process changes and other flexible equipment, while Google pays for the capacity.
Google and Voltus called the distributed portfolio one of the largest known deployments of its kind by a hyperscaler, underscoring the scale of demand-response measures associated with data-center growth.
Google will fund a 1 gigawatt virtual power plant run by Voltus on the PJM grid, to supply capacity for its operations there. The deal adds 1,070 megawatts to the 100 megawatts the two agreed in June, the companies said on Thursday.
PJM serves 67 million customers across 13 states and the District of Columbia. The companies called the new capacity one of the largest known distributed portfolios a hyperscaler has deployed.
How the plant works
A virtual power plant has no turbines. Voltus pools spare capacity from local businesses and homes, and Google pays for it. When the grid is under strain, Voltus signals those sites to cut their power use. They do it with batteries, smart thermostats, changes to industrial processes and other flexible equipment.