A cross-industry collaborative with a unique focus

The VPP Convergence Project brings together some of the best minds in VPP policy to tackle what’s arguably the industry’s biggest challenge: breakdowns at state public utility commissions. No regulatory change, no deployments.

The problem is two-fold. First, as often happens with promising new technologies, virtual power plants are surrounded by a good amount of hype, in the regulatory arena and elsewhere. Second, despite a profusion of reports and white papers, there’s often a step missing that would make these resources readily actionable by commissioners or staff. (You’re a PUC staffer launching a new VPP program; where do you start?) As a result, the regulatory process around deploying VPPs moves glacially slowly, if at all.

The goal of the VPP Convergence Project isn’t to push specific policies. It’s to help public utility commissions cut through the noise and make informed, evidence-based decisions. To that end, we’ll be publishing a variety of tailored resources and tools in the coming months.

And as a non-profit initiative, the point isn’t to advance VPPs per se – it’s to enable society to benefit from VPPs by empowering utility commissions to develop sound policy.

Accelerating VPP deployment to solve real-world problems

Areas across the U.S. are struggling to meet new energy demands amid construction challenges and affordability concerns. Confusion around state and federal priorities further complicates things.

Virtual power plants offer tangible, immediate relief to utilities and regulators. But despite many useful resources and a successful track record, VPPs still aren’t well understood. The VPP Convergence Project is bringing structure and tools to the policymaking sphere to accelerate VPP deployment across the country.

Advised by leading experts

Our advisory boards ensure we benefit from the best and latest thinking to create tools that are used and useful, avoiding duplication of effort. Advisors are crucial to our mission: enabling clear understanding and effective communication to realize beneficial policy change.

System change via policy change

Because how else? Deployments will lag until policy makers clearly understand VPPs and the problems they solve. Hype and disjointed advocacy aren’t helpful.

VPPs enable a unique convergence of technologies, markets, and benefits that can redefine the power grid for the 21st century. Harnessing their potential won’t happen without a similar convergence of policy ideas and resources. Catalyzing this convergence is the project’s mission.

Developing a common framework

What’s desperately needed is a common framework for crafting effective VPP policy – one that’s built on a clear understanding and shared vision of the role VPPs can play in energy systems.

Building on cornerstone resources and our advisors’ collective expertise, the initiative will produce a policy framework and tools to help state regulators enable VPPs at scale. Simultaneously, we will socialize these across the industry to empower stakeholders to speak credibly and effectively with decision makers.