Utility Dive•29 days ago
In 2026, virtual power plants must scale or risk being left behind
Key Takeaway
The rise of AI data centers is shifting utility focus to large-scale generation, compelling virtual power plants and distributed energy resources to rapidly scale by 2026 to maintain market relevance.
AI Summary
- •The rapid growth of AI data centers is prompting utilities to prioritize large-scale generation projects.
- •Despite this shift, advocates contend that flexible distributed energy resources (DERs) and virtual power plants (VPPs) offer the highest value.
- •Virtual power plants face a critical imperative to achieve significant scale by 2026 to avoid being marginalized in the evolving energy market.
Topics
datacenter
Article Content
The AI data center frenzy is shifting utilities’ focus to large-scale generation. But advocates say flexible, distributed energy resources still provide the biggest bang for the buck, according to our 2026 DER outlook.