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Google and energy-services company Voltus have raised their target for a virtual power plant in the PJM grid region from 100 megawatts to 1 gigawatt. The companies say the distributed capacity will help support grid reliability as data-center demand increases, but Google has not provided a timeline or identified which data centers the program will support.
Google and Voltus plan to secure 1 gigawatt of virtual-power-plant capacity across the PJM Interconnection region, increasing a target they set in June by tenfold. The announcement matters as data centers add to electricity demand in a grid region facing rising capacity costs and delays in bringing new power plants online.
A virtual power plant, or VPP, coordinates electricity-consuming devices and distributed energy resources so they can reduce grid demand or provide power when the system is under pressure. Voltus said it will recruit and manage participating homes and businesses, which may be paid to cut energy use or supply electricity from batteries during peak periods. The companies have not disclosed how many customers or individual resources the 1-gigawatt target would involve.
The new goal builds on a 100-megawatt target announced by Google and Voltus in June. Voltus chief executive Dana Guernsey told Canary Media that the initial amount was intended as a starting point for a larger effort. She said the planned commitments for Google would extend through 2040, longer than the availability periods generally secured through PJM’s annual capacity auction.
Voltus said the capacity being assembled for Google would be in addition to resources the company already bids into PJM’s capacity market. Guernsey also said Google’s VPP would use carbon-free capacity, rather than fossil-fueled backup generators or other emitting resources. Those are statements from the companies; detailed project terms and a public schedule have not been released.
A New Tool for PJM’s Capacity Crunch
The proposed 1 gigawatt would be a substantial amount of flexible capacity, but it is a target, not a report of resources already operating. If Voltus can secure the commitments, coordinated reductions in electricity use and battery output could help ease peak demand without waiting for new central power plants and transmission infrastructure to be built. The approach could also give participating customers contracted revenue or savings in exchange for changing when and how they use electricity.
The pressure is particularly relevant in PJM, which serves about 67 million people across parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. Canary Media reported that the cost of securing enough capacity for peak demand in PJM had risen more than eightfold in recent years. The grid operator forecasts that data centers and other large loads could add 30 to 34 gigawatts of demand by the early 2030s, compared with a recent system peak of 162.6 gigawatts.
For Google, the proposal offers a way to present flexible resources alongside the electricity needs of its data centers. For the region, the practical value will depend on whether those resources are available when needed, where they are located, and whether their operation delivers measurable relief without shifting costs or reliability risks to other customers.
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From 100 Megawatts to One Gigawatt
Voltus has operated in demand response, in which customers are paid to reduce electricity use during periods of high demand, for nearly a decade. In 2025, the company introduced a “bring your own capacity” approach: data-center developers would pay other electricity customers to provide flexibility, rather than relying only on new generation to meet added demand. Google is the only data-center developer Voltus has publicly identified as a partner for this approach.
PJM’s capacity market is a major mechanism for paying resources to be available to meet future peak demand. The grid operator has faced challenges getting new power plants connected, including a crowded interconnection queue. A VPP can draw on existing customer equipment and behavior, but it still requires recruitment, equipment, communications, and reliable participation; it is not equivalent to adding a gigawatt of always-available generation.
Voltus says it currently manages more than 9 gigawatts of demand-response and VPP capacity nationwide and has set a goal of 20 gigawatts by 2030. The company raised $225 million earlier this month, according to the source report, and has expanded its battery focus through its acquisition of Brightfield AI. Those company-wide figures are separate from the new PJM target for Google.
“support regional reliability and deliver direct economic benefits to local communities.”
— Ellen Zuckerman, Google’s head of energy market development for North and South America, in a company press release
Timeline and Local Grid Effects
Google has not said when the VPP is expected to reach 1 gigawatt, which data centers it is intended to support, or how much capacity is already under contract. The companies also have not published the number, location, or mix of participating homes, businesses, and batteries. Without those details, it is not possible to assess how much of the planned capacity could be available during a specific PJM peak or in a particular local area.
The claim that the resources will support reliability and benefit communities is an announced aim, not a measured result. The source report says Guernsey described commitments through 2040 and a carbon-free capacity approach, but the detailed contract structure, verification methods, and consequences if customers cannot deliver remain undisclosed. It is also unclear how the program’s contributions will be counted alongside other demand-response resources and future data-center power plans.
Recruiting Customers and Batteries
The immediate next step is for Voltus to secure customers and distributed resources capable of meeting the long-term commitment. The companies have not announced a public milestone schedule, so there is no stated date for reaching intermediate targets or completing the full gigawatt. Further details on participating utilities, service areas, customer contracts, and battery deployment would help show how the plan will work in practice.
As the effort develops, its performance will depend on whether enrolled customers can consistently reduce load or discharge batteries during PJM’s periods of need. The companies’ future disclosures—and any applicable grid-market filings or program updates—will be needed to establish the project’s scale, timing, and contribution to regional reliability.
Key Questions
What did Google and Voltus announce?
They raised their target for a virtual power plant in the PJM region from 100 megawatts to 1 gigawatt. The announcement is a plan to secure capacity, not confirmation that the full amount is already operating.
How would the virtual power plant work?
Voltus plans to coordinate homes and businesses that can reduce electricity use or provide battery power when the grid is under pressure. Those distributed resources can act together as flexible capacity.
Why is the plan focused on PJM?
PJM serves about 67 million people and is facing rising demand from data centers and other large electricity users. The grid operator has also encountered challenges connecting new power plants, according to the source report.
When will the 1-gigawatt capacity be available?
No timeline has been announced. Google has not specified when the target will be reached or which existing or planned data centers the capacity will support.
Is the planned capacity already part of PJM’s market?
Voltus CEO Dana Guernsey said the capacity being secured for Google would be in addition to the resources Voltus already bids into PJM’s capacity market. The companies have not released detailed contract or accounting information.
Source: rss
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