Virtual Power Plants
Voltus and Google Launched Their DER Agreement to Build Grid Capacity in PJM
Adam Harrie — June 3, 2026
Voltus signed a three-year DER agreement with Google to aggregate up to 100MW of distributed energy resources annually into a virtual power plant capacity solution across PJM, the largest grid operator in the US. Local businesses and households with batteries, smart thermostats and other flexible assets can enroll and receive direct payments funded by Google.
Rather than building new grid infrastructure to meet growing demand, the partnership uses software to synchronize thousands of distributed devices during peak hours. By discharging batteries and adjusting thermostats, Voltus and Google can reduce grid stress with minimal impact on end users.
A Brattle Group analysis found that smarter use of existing grid resources could save US consumers more than $100 billion over the next decade.
