Extreme weather events, from heatwaves in the Pacific Northwest to bushfires in Australia, are expected to become more frequent as climate change accelerates — piling greater pressure on electricity grids and increasing the risks of blackouts.
And these challenges have fuelled the use of digital technologies to link up privately owned energy assets — such as solar panels, thermostats and batteries — aggregating energy to relieve the pressure on the grid.
Such decentralised “virtual power plants” have the potential both to lower power costs for consumers and to reduce the need for expensive upgrades to electricity grids, according to companies in the sector.