Virtual power plant (VPP) enthusiasts gathered on January 29 at our Midwest Energy Solutions (MES) Conference in Chicago for a collaborative workshop on how to accelerate VPP deployments across the U.S. organized around the imperatives listed in the Department of Energy (DOE) Liftoff Report for VPPs. Virtual power plants are collections of distributed energy resources (DERs) that can be called on to reduce electricity demand peaks. VPPs have the potential capacity to address 10-20% of peak load by 2030 according to the report. 

Carmen Best, Chief Policy Officer at Recurve, offered opening remarks to frame the discussion. She invited table leads to make the concept concrete by offering their own definitions of VPPs to the audience before splitting into smaller discussion groups around the room. Varying definitions touched on leveraging aggregations of behind-the-meter resources and providing multiple grid services. Carmen highlighted the plethora of case studies provided in the 2025 update to the DOE report, demonstrating the potential for VPPs to get off the ground in as little as six months. Lively conversations ensued around each imperative.  

1. Expand DER adoption with equitable benefits: Wesley Whited (DNV), led a discussion that touched on equitably rolling out demand response programs from both a consumer and utility perspective, including the load shifting potential of demand response programs and the challenges with predicting behaviors from a grid-side perspective. Group participants also made note of cases where VPP-enabled microgrids can offer grid hardening benefits to customers in rural areas in a cost-effective manner and discussed approaches to increasing DER access for small businesses.
2. Simplify VPP enrollment: Cory Fox (EnergyHub) facilitated a conversation where participants noted enrollment barriers including reliability of benefits, the perceived sacrifice of comfort associated with load shifting, ease of enrollment and overall lack of awareness. Then, they identified solutions such as sending regular communications about VPPs through established regular communications (like bills), personalized targeting and normalizing VPP enrollment by highlighting other local participants to potential enrollees.
3. Increase standardization in VPP operations: Attendees led by Chad Ritchie (Oracle) shared a variety of barriers to standardization like the varied array of state regulations on data privacy, customer perceptions around data security and the range of complexity in customer experience in VPP programs. They entertained big picture questions about the role of utilities behind the meter and how to align stakeholders to overcome knowledge gaps.
4. Integrate into utility planning and incentives: Amalia Hicks’ (Cadmus) group highlighted the need to establish performance incentives, assign value to transmission and distribution and update cost effectiveness tests in order to accurately value VPPs and their grid impacts.
5. Integrate into wholesale markets: Derek Kirchner (TRC) and his table pointed to the challenges of VPP integration posed by the differing rules and procedures across markets. Kirchner emphasized the need for VPPs to be profitable in order to drive adoption.

A brief Q&A session after the breakout discussions drew on the expertise of each table lead. Whited noted the out-of-the box thinking in his group and the importance of bringing varied perspectives to the conversation on accelerating VPP adoption. As MEEA expands its work on DERs, we hope to continue to bring stakeholders together to share knowledge and enrich each other’s work to ensure that VPPs reach their potential to shift load and use energy efficiently. For more information, watch the MEEA webinar, Virtual Power Plants in the Heartland: How VPPs are Impacting the Midwest.