Google funds a gigawatt-scale virtual power plant

Google is funding a virtual power plant of roughly 1 gigawatt across PJM, the U.S. electricity region spanning 13 states and Washington, D.C., expanding an initial 100-megawatt deal announced in June. Voltus will assemble it from homes and businesses that can cut electricity use or draw on batteries when demand peaks, turning thousands of small actions into grid capacity instead of building a single generator. The companies say the added 1,070 megawatts make this one of the largest distributed-power portfolios backed by a hyperscaler, and Google expects it to help support its regional data centers. The bet is that flexible demand can make room for AI infrastructure faster while paying participating customers, though it depends on reliably recruiting and coordinating those assets when the grid is under strain.