The Dallas skyline is visible from Sylvan Avenue in Dallas, Texas on Thursday, December 22, 2022. (Emil T. Lippe for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Ford, General Motors, Google Nest, and several energy companies are partnering to support the growth of "virtual power plants" (VPPs) — or networks of decentralized power sources designed to kick in when the grid falls short. RMI, a nonprofit seeking to decarbonize the energy system, is spearheading the effort.
“Virtual power plants are poised for explosive growth, and RMI is committed to being at the forefront of their success by launching VP3,” said RMI CEO Jon Creyts in a press release. “Our analysis shows that VPPs can reduce peak power demand and improve grid resilience in a world of increasingly extreme climate events."
How does this work? Virtual power plants pool together both energy producers and consumers under a single entity, from wind and solar farms to home heaters that use smart thermostats. The idea is that these networks can coordinate to both provide and conserve energy as needed, depending on demand on the grid. This could entail using advanced software to prompt members to reduce their consumption.
On the supply side, producers in a VPP are able to better "monitor, forecast, optimize and trade their power," explains Next, one of Europe's largest VPP operators. "This way, fluctuations in the generation of renewables can be balanced by ramping up and down power generation and power consumption of controllable units."
So if a wind farm is overproducing, and a solar park is under producing, they can coordinate their output to provide a balanced load. It also allows them to potentially trade together on the same market, putting them in competition with large central power plants. It could also provide additional power options for large industrial consumers, such as automakers.
“Virtual power plants present an exciting opportunity to unlock additional value for homes, businesses and communities, helping to drive greater energy independence and grid decarbonization,” said Mark Bole, vice president and head of GM's V2X and Battery Solutions. “This collaboration underscores GM’s commitment to creating a more resilient grid, with EVs and virtual power plants playing a key role in helping to advance our all-electric future.”
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into several social media and artificial intelligence companies about the potential harms to children and teenagers who use their AI chatbots as companions.
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.
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Ali Kashani, CEO of Serve Robotics, dives into their $63.3M acquisition of Vayu Robotics and how it's accelerating the future of autonomous delivery systems.
