Sunrun, Sunpower, Google Nest and more in new RMI-led virtual power plant partnership

By Cameron Murray
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
VPP partnership members Sunrun and Ford have collaborated to create bi-directional charging capabilities for the latter’s F150 Lightning electric truck. Image: Sunrun / Ford.

Google’s smart home division has joined a group of companies including Ford, Sunpower and Sunrun in founding a new partnership centred around scaling the market for virtual power plants (VPP).

The companies announced the launch of the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3), led by RMI, a non-profit focused on accelerating the energy transition globally.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Founding members include automotive OEMs Ford and General Motors, smart home solutions providers Google Nest, OhmConnect and SPAN, and distributed energy resources (DERs) platform and VPP solution companies Olivine, SunPowerSunrun, SwitchDin, and Virtual Peaker.

VP3 will, in its own words, “…work to catalyse industry and transform policy to support scaling VPPs in ways that help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonisation by overcoming barriers to VPP market growth”.

It said that VPPs can leverage EVs, smart thermostats and appliances, batteries, solar PV arrays and additional energy assets to support the grid.

RMI CEO Jon Creyts said: “Our analysis shows that VPPs can reduce peak power demand and improve grid resilience in a world of increasingly extreme climate events. A growing VPP market also means revenue opportunities for hardware, software, and energy-service companies in the buildings and automotive industries. For large energy users, VPPs can significantly reduce energy spend while providing new revenue streams.”

The new organisation will work to:

  1. Catalog, research, and communicate VPP benefits
  2. Develop industry-wide best practices, standards, and roadmaps
  3. Inform and shape policy development

Find out more about VP3 here.

This story first appeared on Energy-Storage.news.

PV Tech publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 28-29 March 2023 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

Read Next

September 3, 2025
US residential solar prices have remained at historic lows in the first half of the year despite market uncertainty and continued high interest rates.
September 2, 2025
SMA Solar has forecast financial losses and further restructuring measures in 2025, as it responds to falling sales and a “challenging” market for residential and commercial renewable energy installations.
September 1, 2025
California's solar and storage association has called for US$10 million fines for PG&E and SCE for failing to approve residential solar and storage projects applications quickly.
August 21, 2025
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has forecast that the US will add 33.3GW of utility-scale solar PV in 2025.
August 8, 2025
German solar inverter manufacturer SMA Solar posted losses in the first half of 2025, as demand in the residential and corporate & industrial (C&I) solar sectors 'remains weak'.
July 28, 2025
Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced it has invested a record AU$4.7 billion (US$3.09 billion) in large-scale renewables, energy storage, and transmission projects during the 12-month period ending 30 June 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines