Moving the Virtual Power Plant vision to reality at the KEMA Energy Innovation Forum

Industry experts join KEMA in exploring innovation, business, and policy needs to develop the Virtual Power Plant

Rapid changes in the demand for electricity, capabilities of information technology, regulatory mandates, and customer expectations have focused attention on the need to define a new vision for modern electric system architecture and operations—the working title for this new vision is the Virtual Power Plant (VPP).

The VPP integrates the operation of supply- and demand-side assets to meet customer demand for energy services in both the short- and long-term. To match short-interval load fluctuations, the VPP makes extensive and sophisticated use of information technology, advanced metering, automated control capabilities, and electricity storage. The VPP concept also treats long-term load reduction achieved through energy efficiency investments, distributed generation, and verified demand response (DR) on an equal footing with supply expansion. Thus, this approach extends the boundary of utility capacity investments through the meter, with its expanding communication and control capabilities, all the way to customer-side equipment.

KEMA Innovation Day White Paper: The Virtual Power Plant
In April 2010, KEMA held its first Energy Innovation Forum, a private event in Oakland, California, for KEMA’s newly formed Innovation Day series. KEMA invited industry leaders and experts to participate in this high level, collaborative strategy session, focused on moving the Virtual Power Plant to reality. KEMA summarized the findings from the Energy Innovation Forum in a new white paper, “The Virtual Power Plant.”

This white paper assesses the advancements that are necessary to bring the Virtual Power Plant to fruition. For example, whereas many elements of the Virtual Power Plant now exist, and penetration levels are increasing as our energy technology moves toward distributed generation and electric storage, complete integration of advanced metering infrastructure, an important component, has been hindered, The paper also identifies changes in policies and regulations that would support the Virtual Power Plant, as well as steps the utilities can start now, such as designing programs and services to educate and involve customers based on their value propositions.

The Virtual Power Plant concept is also addressed in KEMA’s forthcoming Utility of the Future Leadership Guidebook, Volume 3: Engaging the customer – The power behind the meter.

For additional insight into the “Virtual Power Plant,” download the KEMA white paper linked on the right.