BYOD
Customer Engagement
Demand Response
EV Charging
Incentive Processing
Program Design
Program Management Automation
Flexible Dispatch
Virtual Power Plants
Platform
Grid-Edge DERMS
Customer Engagement
Demand Forecasting
Renewable energy usage has grown dramatically over the last decade, with U.S. energy providers producing three times as much clean energy today than in 2014. This trend to expand renewable energy production is a global phenomenon, as data demonstrates that wind and solar generation continues to grow rapidly. With the adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) expected to more than double by 2027, utilities have turned to Grid-Edge distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) to leverage these resources for use in demand flexibility programs like demand response, EV charging, or BYOD programs. This Thanksgiving, Virtual Peaker thanks us for our opportunity to contribute positively to these decarbonization efforts while celebrating renewable energy wins this year.
Demand is Rising
If you’re reading this, you likely already understand that demand is rising. To keep pace, the Department of Energy reports that 80-160 GWh of virtual power plant capacity is needed by 2030 to meet demand. For context, as of 2023, the U.S. produced around 30-60 GWh of virtual power plant capacity, largely attributable to demand response. Concurrently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the global supply of fossil fuels is sufficient to meet the demand for liquid fuels until 2050. With finite resources, growing electric demand, and the necessary decarbonization efforts necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change, renewable energy remains critical during the energy transition. Now, let’s look at a few instances this year that illustrate the value of renewable energy programs.
Clean Energy Jobs Are Booming
According to the 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), more than 250K clean energy jobs were added in the U.S. in 2023. Globally, renewable energy employment added 1.5m, compared to only 940K jobs in fossil fuels. Evidence suggests that this trend will continue, signaling both public support of the renewable energy market, as well as the long-term economic potential of renewable and distributed energies. Consumers aren’t just adopting DERs at a higher rate, but are again signaling public interest in pursuing renewable energy sources as an alternative to fossil fuels to better help minimize the impact of climate change, and these increases in the workforce illustrate that growth succinctly. Furthermore, these clean energy jobs in turn mean more potential DER assets both in front of and behind-the-meter, opening up greater load management opportunities for utilities to leverage.
These clean energy jobs include wins in Virtual Peaker’s home state of Kentucky, which saw the opening of a new battery power plant that promises to bring more than 1,500 jobs to Kentucky, particularly in rural regions. This is part of the expanding battery belt, which is needed more than ever to meet rising demand during the energy transition. In fact, battery storage capacity is expected to nearly double by the end of the year; batteries are a crucial resource for renewable energy technologies and critical during the energy transition to reliably meet demand.
Behind-the-Meter DERs Are More Reliable Than Ever
Distributed energy resources (DERs) come in many shapes and sizes, including solar, battery energy storage systems, electric vehicles (EVs) and EVSE chargers, and smart home devices like thermostats or water heaters. Using a DERMS, utilities can aggregate these resources through programs like demand response or EV managed charging, both conservation efforts that minimize usage through a concerted decrease in energy usage within a service territory. These conservation efforts both support the need for increased virtual power plant capacity, while enhancing grid resiliency and defraying high energy costs by decreasing demand during peak periods of usage.
Utilities can approach this using one of two types of DERMS. A Grid DERMS employs utility-held DER assets like solar or battery installations. By contrast, a Grid-Edge DERMS aggregates behind-the-meter DER assets—distributed energy found in places like residential, commercial, or business properties—for use in customer programs. Unfortunately, these programs are reliant on numerous factors including weather and customer willingness to enroll and participate, leading to concerns over behind-the-meter DER intermittency. That’s why Virtual Peaker introduced Topline Demand Control this year, to remove that uncertainty.
Introducing Topline Demand Control
Topline Demand Control combines Grid-Edge DERMS, AI, machine learning, advanced forecasting software, and model predictive control to optimize distributed energy resources. Traditionally, virtual power plants that leverage behind-the-meter DER assets suffer from an inconsistent output. By contrast, Topline Demand Control determines the precise and accurate amount of energy available from devices during grid events, ensuring a reliable outcome. With Topline Demand Control, utilities set their parameters and can count on their outcome every time, eliminating the uncertainty in load management while rendering these increasingly abundant renewable energy technologies consistent and reliable.
Flexible Dispatch
Flexible dispatching functionality supports load management by allowing utilities to direct energy to when and where it’s needed the most, providing a granular expansion of load management opportunities. For G&T, JAAs, or utilities that manage multiple cooperating operations, flexible dispatch provides a path to locally dispatch energy, group events by numerous factors like device, device type, or location, and deploy programs across operations and service territories for broader, aggregate conservation efforts. Along with Topline Demand Control, flexible dispatch supports renewable energy by opening up different opportunities to deploy resources to meet demand, for energy arbitrage, or to address infrastructure challenges.
Expanding Our Device Partnerships & Resources
In addition to expanding our support of behind-the-meter DERs and modernizing virtual power plants, Virtual Peaker was fortunate to announce a spate of device partnerships this year and introduce solar inverters to our already long list of devices we support. For a few examples, in October we partnered with MidSouth Electric Cooperative to help simplify their load management across multiple energy markets, we partnered with new device partners like FranklinWH and Mysa to expand our demand flexibility options, and with MMWEC to help expand their residential demand response program. While we have more partnerships on the horizon, we’re thankful for the opportunity to expand our reach in our fight to decarbonize.
EV Infrastructure Wins
Thanks largely to legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, investments in U.S. energy infrastructure are on the rise. For example, since 2021 the number of publicly available EV chargers has doubled, supporting ambitious EV manufacturing mandates, while alleviating range anxiety. As of 2023, 64% of Americans lived near public EV charging stations, with research indicating that those who live closest tend to view EVs more positively. Now, with more EV infrastructure increasing that percentage, the possibility of a national EV fleet is that much closer to realization.
We’re Grateful for These Renewable Energy Wins Conclusion
Irrespective of any cultural changes, renewable energy technologies are here to stay. Renewable energy and DER technologies represent an opportunity not only to mitigate the effects of climate change but to revolutionize energy management while decreasing expensive peak energy purchasing costs. That’s why industry elites are calling to continue climate change mitigations while supporting investments in environmental and equitable business practices: these are economically sensible investments that decrease energy costs and enhance energy resiliency at a global scale. We’re thankful for everyone committed to the energy transition, to our audience, and to our partners, and grateful that we have the opportunity to serve the U.S. energy industry through innovative solutions. Happy Thanksgiving from Virtual Peaker.
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