[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Google will support building a virtual power plant (VPP) in the United States' largest power grid region to respond to growing electricity demand from AI data centres. Instead of data centres directly cutting power use, the approach secures spare grid capacity by adjusting electricity consumption at homes and businesses.

On June 3 local time, MIT Technology Review reported that Google is working with virtual power plant and distributed energy resource platform company Voltus to push a virtual power plant project within PJM Interconnection, a power grid in the eastern United States.

In the project, Voltus will build a virtual power plant by connecting distributed energy resources such as electric vehicles, smart thermostats and energy storage devices. Participating households and businesses will be compensated for cutting usage during periods of surging grid demand or using stored electricity instead.

Google will support the build costs, and the additional power capacity secured through the project is expected to be used to support data centre operations in the region.

The project is seen as a representative case of a big tech company using a virtual power plant to address data centre electricity demand.

As AI adoption accelerates, data centre power consumption has surged, increasing strain on the U.S. grid. Industry analysis has long suggested that even if data centres cut consumption only during certain peak hours, more data centres could be accommodated without building new power plants or expanding transmission networks. A Duke University study estimates that if data centres cut power use for only about 40 hours a year, about 100 GW of new data centres could be connected to the existing grid.

Still, the nature of AI data centres limits their ability to cut electricity use on their own. Generative AI services require significant real-time computing, so decisions to reduce power consumption can immediately lead to lower service quality or reduced revenue. As a result, securing demand-response resources from other consumers, rather than data centre operators saving power directly, has recently emerged as a new alternative.

Voltus last year introduced its Bring Your Own Capacity program, which allows data centre operators to secure flexibility resources in local grids directly. Google is the program's first publicly disclosed customer. Voltus expects the project to secure up to 100 MW of distributed energy resources annually. The virtual power plant is targeted to begin operating in 2027.

The United States is also working to refine related systems. Some states are considering bringing forward new data centres' grid connections on the condition that they cut use during peak-demand periods. Texas has prepared a bill requiring large power users to use backup power or cut consumption in emergencies.

Google also believes there is no single solution to the data centre power problem. Michael Terrell (마이클 테럴), Google's global head of advanced energy, said, "There is no one solution for expanding grid capacity," and added, "We are reviewing various options, including load flexibility."

Some analysis also says the success of virtual power plants depends on the scale of participation. Securing enough participation is key because households and businesses must give up some control over charging times or power-use patterns. In a study of a managed electric-vehicle charging program in California, participation was about 1 percent without financial compensation, and stood at 4.6 percent even with $40 a month in compensation.

Google and Voltus have not yet disclosed the size of compensation. Industry watchers see actual participation rates and the amount of power capacity that can be secured as key variables that will determine the project's success.

A recent Gallup survey found that about 70 percent of respondents said they oppose building AI data centres near their homes, another factor cited. The issue of securing local acceptance during data centre expansion and power infrastructure buildout is also expected to remain an important task.