Virtual Power: The Future of Energy Flexibility

Electric utilities in the United States spent almost $60 billion on grid modernization in 2019 and will spend trillions in the coming decades to keep the lights on. We're facing a global challenge to make humanity's presence on this planet sustainable. The electrical grid is undergoing an energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but it needs to become more flexible to supply and sustain our needs. Amazing work is being done with renewable energy to decarbonize the electrical grid, but the grid is not yet flexible enough to become carbon-neutral. Yet. Virtual Power details how energy storage and virtual power plants will enable the electrical grid to become more sustainable, affordable, and resilient. In this book, you'll discover: How grid scale energy storage in Australia reduces costs and keeps the lights on The Duck Curve: how virtual power plants made from charging electric vehicles are keeping solar energy from destroying California's electrical grid How businesses and governments are saving billions of dollars by investing in flexibility and storage These stories give us hope and provide reasons to be optimistic about our ability to make our energy consumption more sustainable in the future. If you are passionate about sustainability, the environment, or technology, Virtual Power is for you!