Designing and Deploying Virtual Power Plants for Community Benefit

With proper planning, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) can help utilities address the growing demand for electricity in the United States.

This course is designed to equip staff at local energy providers, such as municipal utilities and local aggregators, with the complete framework needed to design, develop, and implement a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program. The curriculum begins with assessing local Distributed Energy Resources (DER) potential and load baseline, then covers regulatory compliance, technology specification, economics, and long-term operations.

The course focuses on balancing financial sustainability for the aggregator while maximizing local resilience, access, and direct value for participating community members. Participants will leave with a strategic implementation roadmap tailored to their service territory.

Participants are encouraged to register by October 5 for priority consideration. Registration will remain open through October 12, space permitting.

This work was funded by the US Department of Energy’s Integrated Energy Systems Office, in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, as part of the National Community Solar Partnership+. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California.

Facilitators

Jamal Lewis, Center for Impact Finance
Corey Ramsden, independent energy transition consultant
Joel Danforth, Grid Alternatives
Hanna Jones, consultant for Arizona Public Service
Jordan Taylor, Synergy Grid