I see that every day the topic of virtual power plants is more discussed, and I think it is a very good alternative for the future management of our electrical power networks.
With the increase in electricity from renewable sources (solar and wind), the “problem” of managing the consumption needs of the electricity grid appears when the production of these renewable energies decreases,. and being able todo it without having to resort to the consumption of electricity from fossil fuels.
The alternative is to have stored energy that can be sent to the electrical grid in a very short time, and to do so, take advantage of the energy that may be stored in homes or in cars that are connected to the electrical grid.
And this is what they call "virtual power plants", because each particular device connected to the electrical network and that has energy stored in its batteries, at a given moment can "contribute" a part of that energy to the network, and In this way, the network is capable of managing energy peaks without having to resort to producing it, because energy can be distributed from one place to another. Hence the name “virtual energy”.
I think the idea is excellent and it is already being developed. In the USA, a group called the Virtual Power Plant Partnership has been formed, with the participation of Google, Ford, and energy production and distribution companies, to carry out the project and carry out real tests.
This new concept involves profoundly modifying the electricity supply networks, since in the beginning they were designed to transfer the electricity generated in their plants to the end users. And now they must also be able to manage energy in the opposite direction, from consumers to the grid, and from it to other consumers who need it.
Now, and more in the future, consumers can have energy in their home batteries and/or in the batteries of their electric vehicles, and if many thousands or millions of consumers come together, the energy that they can contribute in certain moments can represent many GigaWatts that can be distributed through the network.
And at other times, those batteries can be recharged again when more sustainable power is available from the grid. And that way everybody can make better use of the total energy available without having to generate it by consuming fossil fuels.
That said, it seems to me a very good idea that will mean a profound change in all existing energy distribution networks, and that costs time and money, but it will be money very well invested.
You can see a very clarifying video at: https://youtu.be/-KQEt5QqPXU
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