[USA] Texas regulators approve two Tesla VPPs to provide energy to the electric grid

On August 23, 2023, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) announced that two Tesla virtual power plants (VPPs) have completed testing and been qualified to participate in wholesale markets managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator.[1] The two Tesla projects will operate in Houston and Dallas, serviced by CenterPoint Energy and Oncor Electric Delivery, respectively. The Tesla VPPs and six other projects, totaling 7.2 MW, will participate in the Aggregate Distributed Energy Resources (ADER) pilot. The six other projects have completed initial registration steps and are in the commissioning process. The pilot is overseen by ERCOT and was launched after Tesla expressed interest in aggregating Powerwall batteries in the state. Resources participating in the pilot must include “power generation devices,” including battery energy storage systems or generators. They may also include demand response devices like smart thermostats, controllable electric vehicle chargers, or smart water heaters. Under the ADER pilot, energy sources must be under 1 MW each, and the aggregated power plants must be less than 80 MW, enough to power about 16,000 homes during peak demand in ERCOT.

[1] https://ftp.puc.texas.gov/public/puct-info/agency/resources/pubs/news/2023/PUCT_Virtual_Power_Plants_to_Provide_Power_to_ERCOT_Grid_for_the_First_Time.pdf

[USA] Sunrun and PG&E announce new VPP to support California grid in the summer

On February 6, 2022, Sunrun, a solar and battery storage provider, announced plans to create a 30 MW virtual power plant (VPP) by enrolling up to 7,500 existing and new residential solar and battery systems in Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) service area.[1] Storage systems that enroll in the Energy Efficiency Summer Reliability Program will be directed to discharge power to the grid every day between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. from August through October, a time when energy needs in California tend to be the highest. Customers will receive a $750 upfront payment and a free smart thermostat for participating. Batteries enrolled in the program will keep enough energy to meet customers’ needs in the event of a local power outage in their area. All Sunrun solar and battery customers in single-family homes in PG&E’s footprint who are not currently enrolled in other demand response programs are eligible to participate. In addition, the program will provide Sunrun with incremental revenue for managing and delivering VPP services to the grid for one year.

The new VPP is part of several programs and solutions that PG&E has implemented to ensure reliability during extreme heat events. The VPP was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in January 2023, and the company plans to begin enrolling customers into the program and start dispatches on August 1, 2023.

[1] https://investors.sunrun.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/279/sunrun-and-pge-collaborate-on-residential-battery-powered

[USA] RMI launches initiative to promote and support virtual power plants

On January 10, 2023, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the global energy transformation, announced the formation of the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3).[1] VP3 includes founding members Ford, General Motors, Google Nest, OhmConnect, Olivine, SPAN, SunPower, Sunrun, SwitchDin, and Virtual Peaker. Initial funding for the VP3 was provided by General Motors and Google Nest. VP3 aims to catalyze industry and transform policy to support scaling VPPs in ways that help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonization by overcoming barriers to virtual power plant (VPP) market growth. VPPs coordinate distributed energy resources such as electric vehicles, batteries, and rooftop solar. Initial research by RMI indicates that virtual power plants could reduce peak demand in the U.S. by 60 GW as soon as 2030. VP3 will work to catalog, research, and communicate VPP benefits; develop industry-wide best practices, standards, and roadmaps; and inform and shape policy development.

[1] https://rmi.org/press-release/rmi-launches-virtual-power-plant-partnership-with-support-from-general-motors-google-nest/

[USA] PG&E and Tesla announce pilot virtual power plant for 25,000 customers

On July 7, 2022, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Tesla Inc. announced that they have launched a new virtual power plant (VPP) pilot program to help support electric grid reliability and save customers money.[1] Tesla invited approximately 25,000 PG&E customers with Powerwall home battery systems to join the VPP on June 22, 2022. Since then, more than 3,000 customers have expressed interest, and more than 1,500 customers have enrolled in the program. These 1,500 customers could provide between 8 and 10 MW of capacity. Enrollment will continue through October 2022. PG&E customers are eligible if they have an interconnection agreement with PG&E, a Tesla Powerwall, and are not enrolled in other demand response programs. Participating customers will receive $2 for every incremental kWh of electricity their Powerwall discharges during times of high demand.

Through this partnership, Tesla is participating in the utility’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) by “enrolling and combining residential Powerwall home battery systems into a virtual power plant to discharge power back to the grid in California during times of high electricity demand.” The ELRP is a five-year pilot started in 2021 to pay consumers for reducing electricity consumption or boosting supply during grid emergencies. In 2021, the utility had about 150 MW of VPPs that could function as demand response in its overall portfolio.

[1] https://www.pge.com/en_US/about-pge/media-newsroom/news-details.page?pageID=d9202eba-9562-4aea-9a76-382b0e4a3a30&ts=1657823764842

[Japan] Okinawa Electric Power Invested in NEXTEMS, a Japanese Energy Aggregator

Okinawa Electric Power (OEPC, Headquarters: Urasoe City, Okinawa Pref.)[1] announced on February 4, 2021 that it has invested in NEXTEMS, a Japanese energy aggregator (Ginowan City, Okinawa Pref.), and will own 23.4% of the shares of the company. NEXTEMS will become an affiliate of OEPC.

NEXTEMS, established in April 2018, provides customers with energy products, including solar power generation systems, battery storage, and EcoCute.[2] The company has been conducting demonstration tests of distributed energy resources’ (DERs) remote monitoring and control with controllable loads. The demonstration tests have been primarily in the Miyakojima area. OEPC and NEXTEMS had previously cooperated to jointly promote renewable energy service providers’ businesses in Miyakojima, and their cooperation helped the area to receive the prestigious New Energy Award in the First Fiscal Year of Reiwa Era (FY 2019) from the New Energy Foundation (NEF, Headquarters: Tokyo)[3], a Japanese organization that promotes the development of renewable energy technologies.

Promoting renewable energy as a main power source is one of OEPC’s focus areas under its long-term Zero Emission Initiative to tackle climate change. Leveraging NEXTEMS’s knowledge and experience with installing DERs control systems, OEPC aims to develop the new solar power and storage battery service that was announced in January 2021.[4]

[1] https://www.nextems.co.jp/profile/

[2] EcoCute is an energy efficient electric heat pump, water heating and supply system.

[3] https://www.nef.or.jp/english/aboutnef.html

[4] https://www.okiden.co.jp/shared/pdf/news_release/2020/210204.pdf

[Japan] Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions and Next Kraftwerke Agreed to Launch Joint Venture, Next Kraftwerke Toshiba

On November 4, 2020, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS, Headquarters: Tokyo), a subsidiary of Toshiba, announced that it has signed an agreement with Next Kraftwerke GmbH (Headquarters: Cologne, Germany), a German operator of large-scale virtual power plants (VPP), to establish a joint venture called Next Kraftwerke Toshiba.

The joint venture aims to provide services using VPP technology for renewable energy power generation companies and aggregators. Their services will help firms to balance their electricity supply and demand, and to optimize their trading operations for improved profitability. Toshiba ESS and Next Kraftwerke will leverage their experience on power supply and demand forecasting, distributed energy resources (DER) management, and energy trading. Toshiba ESS will own 51% of the shares of the joint venture and Next Kraftwerke will own the remaining 49%. The joint venture is expected to begin operations by the end of November 2020.

The joint venture was launched ahead of Japan’s plans to apply new mechanisms to promote the implementation of renewable energy and DER. Japan is set to launch a control reserve market in April 2021 in order to efficiently utilize DER, including renewable energy and battery storage. Furthermore, Japan will make a shift from feed-in tariffs (FIT) to feed-in premiums (FIP) to make renewable energy the main generation source by April 2022. This change will require utilities to be responsible for balancing their supply and demand based on accurate power generation forecasts while mitigating market risks under fluctuating market prices. Since October 2019, Toshiba ESS and Next Kraftwerke have jointly studied the potential for VPP technology to address these challenges.

The joint venture will primarily focus on the Japanese market but will also consider overseas expansion by leveraging Toshiba ESS and Next Kraftwerke’s global operations and networks.[1] [2]

[1] https://www.toshiba-energy.com/info/info2020_1104.htm

[2] https://www.toshiba-energy.com/en/info/info2020_1104.htm

[Japan] Chugoku Power Electric, Meidensha, and Mazda will Jointly Conduct a Virtual Power Plant Demonstration Project Reusing Electric Vehicle Batteries

On October 17, 2019, Chugoku Electric Power Company (Chugoku EPCo), headquartered in Hiroshima Prefecture, announced that it had partnered with Meidensha, a Tokyo-based generator manufacturer, and Mazda, an automaker based in Hiroshima Prefecture, to develop a stationary energy storage system that reuses Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries. The partners will also conduct a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Demonstration Project based on the system.

Generally, VPP can integrate and control electricity from EVs and storage batteries in addition to renewable energy sources located in residential households and manufacturing plants. VPPs are expected to provide a wide variety of services related to power systems, such as power demand and supply management for power transmission and distribution companies.

In order to examine the feasibility of reusing EV batteries for VPP energy, the demonstration project will build a VPP system that controls multiple EV batteries along with other distributed energy resources such as solar power generators, EVs and electric water heaters. The project will evaluate the performance of the VPP and the reused batteries’ capacity deterioration characteristics at Chugoku EPCo’s Energia Economic and Technical Research Institute, which is located in Higashihiroshima city in Hiroshima prefecture.[1]

[1] http://www.energia.co.jp/assets/press/2019/p191017-1a.pdf

[Japan] Miyagi Prefecture and Tohoku Electric Power Company Jointly Conduct a Pilot Project for a Virtual Power Interchange System and Virtual Power Plants

On August 8, 2019, Miyagi Prefecture announced that it has partnered with Tohoku Electric Power Company to conduct a pilot project for a virtual power interchange system and virtual power plants (VPP). The project aims to advance the efficiency of renewable energy by using digital technology.

 The project will begin operation soon and run until March 2021. It will test VPP and P2P (peer-to-peer) energy sharing using solar power generation facilities and storage batteries installed in 7 regional joint government offices in Miyagi Prefecture. The electricity produced by solar power and electricity demand in each building will be measured via blockchain technology. The project will also examine how to transfer surplus electricity from one building to another, verifying the effect of P2P energy sharing. Additionally, a storage battery installed in the Kesennuma regional joint government office will be remotely monitored and optimally controlled by a VPP to extend the life of the storage battery and verify its capability to balance power supply and demand.[1]

[1] http://www.tohoku-epco.co.jp/news/normal/1202078_1049.html

[USA] “Portland General Electric’s Ambitious Smart Grid Test Bed Launches”

[Portland General Electric, 15 July 2019]

Portland General Electric (PGE) has launched its latest venture into new and innovative technologies, the Smart Grid Test Bed. The Test Bed aims to “integrate smart grid technology on a scale never before attempted in the United States.” The project will cover three neighborhoods in its service territory – and over 20,000 of their customers will be able to participate in the demand response programs involved with the test bed; they will also be able to receive incentives for using smart-home technologies. The pilot will also help boost the development of distributed energy resources like rooftop solar, batteries, thermostats, water heaters, and EV charging.  PGE hopes this project will be a major step in creating a virtual power plant and “will help address climate change, empower communities in how they consume energy and create a more resilient power system, all while saving customers money.”

[Japan] Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Will Launch an Integrated Control Service Using Storage Batteries with IoT Technology

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced on December 17, 2018, that it will launch a service that uses optimal control storage batteries with IoT for Virtual Power Plant (VPP), starting from January 1, 2019. The service was commissioned by TEPCO Energy Partner, an electricity retailer company operating under the TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) brand throughout mainland Japan.

Toshiba ESS will install 15kWh storage batteries at 11 elementary schools in Yokohama City and will control them and monitor their efficiency in order to manage demand response for the electric grid, while making sure there is sufficient electricity left to respond to any emergency situations. The program will use Toshiba’s lithium-ion rechargeable battery which is designed for high safety and long battery life.

Toshiba ESS, Yokohama City, and TEPCO EP have worked together since 2016 on this project, including designing the control technology for the storage batteries and conducting the VPP demonstration test.

Toshiba ESS aims to become a Cyber Physical System (CPS) technology company in the energy industry and plans to develop various distributed energy resources for the supply and demand balancing market in Japan, which is expected to open in 2021.

[Japan] Kansai Electric Power, Eliiy Power, and Sansha Electric Manufacturing Company Will Test Frequency Control Technology Using Battery Storage for Virtual Power Plant Applications

Kansai Electric Power, Eliiy Power, and Sansha Electric Manufacturing Company announced on December 17, 2018 that they will launch a demonstration project to test frequency control technology using battery storage for Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Demonstration applications.

The project will test a remote control system (called K-LIBRA) that was jointly developed by Kansai Electric Power and NEC, which can remotely control batteries. The tests will measure the response time and control accuracy of the system, in order to evaluate the batteries’ response performance when used to manage short-term load fluctuations. Sansha Electric Manufacturing Company’s industrial storage battery and Eliiy Power’s household battery will be used for this project. The project will be carried out from January 7 - 31, 2019.

This demonstration project will be the first Japanese project to examine a technology solution capable of remote controlling approximately 10,000 units of batteries simultaneously in seconds.

The VPP project was funded by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Agency for Natural Resources and Energy’s FY2018 Demonstration Project on Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Utilizing Demand Side Energy Resources. Kansai Electric Power will submit the results of the demonstration project to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy by the end of FY 2018.

[Japan] Kyushu Electric Power and Mitsui Jointly Initiated a Virtual Power Plant Project

Kyushu Electric Power announced on November 26, 2018, that it and Mitsui will jointly launch a demonstration project to offer services that utilize a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Platform to lower the electricity bill for residential PV system owners. The project will utilize battery storage, which will be controlled and aggregated by a Dynamic VPP platform based on software developed by Sunverge, a U.S. company. The system is planned to launch ahead of the expiration of Japan’s feed-in tariff (FiT) for renewable energy.

The system is expected to optimize solar power generation and lower electricity bills for customers. In addition, the project aims to develop Kyushu Electric Power’s technological understanding of VPP and battery storage to help the company design new businesses and services to balance electricity demand and supply, and to stabilize the power grid system. The project will be conducted for approximately one year, starting in spring 2019.

[Japan] Osaka Gas and Growing Energy Labs Agreed to Conduct a Joint VPP and Storage Batteries Demonstration Project

On August 7, 2018, Osaka Gas entered into an agreement with a San Francisco-based software start-up company, Growing Energy Labs (Geli), to launch a joint demonstration project to optimize the operation of storage batteries using a virtual power plant (VPP) software platform. The project will be implemented at “NEXT21”, an Osaka Gas experimental housing unit, and at Imazu Ground, another testing site, addressing the needs of residential customers and commercial users respectively. In order to evaluate new Internet of Energy* services using accumulator batteries, the project will adopt Geli’s VPP software platform and energy storage control technology, which is already in use in the U.S. and Australia.

Given the extensive deployment of renewable energy resources in Japan, particularly solar power, it is expected that the need for VPP platforms will increase in the future to address grid instability. In order to acquire key knowledge about VPP and storage battery control technologies, Osaka Gas invested in Geli in March this year, and has been preparing for this demonstration project. As part of the project, the co-optimization between PV self-consumption and the frequency response control will be tested at the NEXT21 site. The Imazu Ground site will be used to evaluate the co-optimization between the demand charge management and the frequency response control, based on the expected customer needs for commercial and industrial use.

* “Internet of Energy” refers to the implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies into distributed energy systems to optimize the efficiency of energy infrastructure and demand-side management.

[Japan] TEPCO, NEC Corporation, Global Engineering and 17 Other Companies Launched a Virtual Power Plant Project to Aggregate Energy Resources

Tokyo Electric Power, NEC Corporation, Global Engineering and 17 other companies launched a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Project on June 6, 2018. The project aims to build a VPP to aggregate energy resources. In FY 2018, the group will improve and demonstrate the systems used by Aggregation Coordinators[1] to accommodate changes in electricity energy supply and demand and will examine different approaches to stabilize the distribution system.

Japan has been promoting the introduction of renewable energy as part of its measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to the rapid introduction of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic power generation, various problems that affect power systems are emerging, such as output fluctuations and excess power generation. TEPCO and its partner companies will work on building a VPP to adjust and distribute energy resources at the megawatt level in order to introduce renewable energy while stabilizing the power system.[2]

This project is being conducted as part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s FY2018 Demonstration Project on Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Utilizing Demand Side Energy Resources, an initiative that will invest 4 billion yen to fund various VPP demonstration projects over FY 2018. The initiative will focus on implementing control technologies in VPPs with over 50 MW capacity by 2020, as part of METI’s goals to increase renewable energy usage.[3]

[1] Aggregation Coordinators are organizations that aggregate energy resources, which are controlled by resource aggregators through VPP service contracts, and directly trade with transmission/distribution service providers and electricity retailers.

[2] http://www.tepco.co.jp/press/release/2018/1495474_8707.html

[3] Virtual Power Plants - Support From the Government (PDF)

[Japan] Japanese Utility and Automobile Companies Jointly Start Testing V2G Technology

On May 31, 2018, Kyushu Electric Power, the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Nissan Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors, and Mitsubishi Electric jointly started a demonstration project for V2G (Vehicle to Grid) technology, with the aim of utilizing EVs to adjust the electricity supply and demand. The project will assess the feasibility of charging EVs and discharging the stored electricity to electricity grids.

The project is being conducted as part of METI’s FY2018 Demonstration Project on Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Utilizing Demand Side Energy Resource, which is further described in the JEPIC digest titled “Toyota Tsusho and Chubu Electric Power Jointly Launched the V2G Aggregator Project in Toyota City, Japan”. 

[Japan] Toyota Tsusho and Chubu Electric Power Jointly Launched the V2G (Vehicle to Grid) Aggregator Project in Toyota City, Japan

Toyota Tsusho and Chubu Electric Power jointly launched the V2G (Vehicle to Grid) Aggregator Project on May 30, 2018. The project will demonstrate charging Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHVs/PHEVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the process for discharging stored electricity to grids. The project will evaluate the V2G control system’s performance and impact on the grids, with the goal of utilizing PHVs/PHEVs/EVs to adjust power supply and demand.

The V2G project is being conducted as part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s FY2018 Demonstration Project on Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Utilizing Demand Side Energy Resources, an initiative that will invest 4 billion yen to fund various VPP demonstration projects over FY 2018. The initiative will focus on implementing control technologies at VPPs with over 50 MW capacity by 2020, as part of METI’s goals to increase renewable energy usage.[1]

VPP technologies combine renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic power generation and energy storage at locations such as residential areas and factories. The introduction of VPP-based renewable energy is expected to expand in Japan, but one challenge to future adoption is fluctuating power output due to changes in weather conditions, and surplus electric power at peak energy production. V2G is a VPP technology that utilizes PHVs/PHEVs/EVs’ in-vehicle battery to manage the fluctuations in output by adjusting the amount and the timing of power supplies.[2]

The V2G project will test the V2G control system, which utilizes multiple in-vehicle storage batteries to control its electricity charges and discharges, in order to verify the feasibility of load balancing through V2G and discharging stored excess renewable energy supplies to the grid when demand is higher. The system will be placed in parking facilities in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The project will use the V2G technology for high frequency regulation developed by the U.S.-based Nuvve Corporation. Regulating at high frequencies is difficult as it requires the system to perform within short response times.

[1] http://www.meti.go.jp/main/yosangaisan/fy2018/pr/en/shoshin_taka_06.pdf

[2] https://www.chuden.co.jp/corporate/publicity/pub_release/press/3268019_21432.html

[Japan] Tohoku Electric Power and Sendai City Announced That They Will Work Together to Utilize Virtual Power Plant Technologies

Sendai (a city in northern Japan’s Miyagi prefecture) and Tohoku Electric Power announced on April 24, 2018 that they will work together to optimize the control systems for solar power generation systems and energy storage systems through Virtual Power Plant (VPP) technologies. The enhanced control systems are expected to support their regional disaster prevention capacity and reduce the systems’ environmental impact.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Sendai placed solar power generation systems and energy storage systems in each of the city’s designated shelter facilities, including in all of the city’s elementary and junior high schools. The systems are designed to reduce CO2 emissions and to secure the power supply when a disaster occurs. Tohoku Electric Power has initiated a VPP Demonstration Project at 25 of Sendai’s designated shelter facilities. The utility company will remotely monitor and optimize the solar power generation systems and energy storage systems, and will run tests using collected resources (power) through the VPP to make adjustments to balance the electricity supply and demand. In addition, the utility will examine solutions to improve the longevity of energy storage. The demonstration project will run for a period of three years, from April 27, 2018 to March 31, 2021.