谷歌与Voltus在PJM启动1GW虚拟电厂
谷歌与Voltus宣布达成协议，将在PJM电网出资建设约1GW的虚拟电厂，为谷歌不断扩张的数据中心业务提供电力容量。据The Next Web报道，此次协议新增1070MW容量，加上双方今年6月约定的100MW，由Voltus汇集参与家庭和企业的闲置容量。电网承压时，参与方可通过电池、智能温控器、工业流程调整等灵活设备减少用电，谷歌则为此容量付费。
谷歌与Voltus称，这一分布式容量组合是超大规模云厂商已知部署中规模最大的一类，反映了数据中心增长带来的需求响应安排。
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.