Google and Voltus have announced an expanded agreement to build a virtual power plant (VPP) with a total capacity of 1GW in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) grid region, which covers 13 US states and Washington, DC.
The agreement increases the planned capacity nearly tenfold from a prior 100MW deal signed in June 2026.
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Voltus, which operates a distributed energy resource (DER) platform, will aggregate energy capacity from local businesses and households for the VPP, which will be funded by Google.
The VPP aims to strengthen grid reliability during periods of high demand by using a combination of batteries, smart thermostats and industrial flexibility.
These resources can be signalled by Voltus to reduce consumption or adjust usage, helping to alleviate stress on the grid.
Participants in the scheme are expected to receive economic benefits including potential bill savings and direct payments, linked to their role in providing flexible capacity.
According to the companies, the total capacity outlined in the agreement represents one of the largest distributed energy portfolios managed by a hyperscale company in the region to date.
Google North and South America energy market development head Ellen Zuckerman said: “Distributed energy resources are powerful tools for managing a modern, reliable grid while keeping energy affordable.
“Expanding our initial commitment tenfold demonstrates our core effort to actively bring our own capacity to the grids that serve us.
“Procuring this capacity through a gigawatt-scale virtual power plant ensures Google’s operations in PJM support regional reliability and deliver direct economic benefits to local communities.”
The PJM grid region serves around 67 million people.
Voltus CEO Dana Guernsey said: “This significant expansion of our work with Google translates data centre growth into direct economic benefits for businesses and homes. Through this partnership we are proud to bring much needed clean capacity online, at gigawatt scale.”
Last month, MN8 Energy, Eos Energy Enterprises and Google launched a collaborative project in West Virginia, US, with the goal of providing additional clean energy resources to the PJM grid to help meet rising demand in the area.
