NRG Energy and Renew Home have announced plans to create a 1-GW AI-powered virtual power plant in Texas, delivering capacity equivalent to that of 200,000 homes during peak demand.
VPPs use an intelligent control system and bidirectional technology to aggregate energy from networked resources located at multiple sites, such as rooftop solar systems, batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats and other distributed energy resources.
“This marks a pivotal step forward in our efforts to deliver more value and an enhanced experience to customers while empowering them with our virtual power plant capabilities,” said Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer.
The company plans to manage energy use in millions of homes across the country by controlling more than a dozen different types of connected devices, including smart thermostats, heating and cooling systems and water heaters.