NRG Energy Inc. announced it is partnering with Renew Home, a virtual power plant (VPP) company to boost its residential VPP capabilities.
Together, NRG and Renew Home aim to distribute hundreds of thousands of VPP-enabled smart thermostats by 2035 and create a nearly 1 GW AI-powered VPP – enabled by Google Cloud technology – to improve the Texas grid's resiliency and help households manage and lower their energy costs.
“This marks a pivotal step forward in our efforts to deliver more value and an enhanced experience to customers while empowering them with our virtual power plant capabilities,” said Rasesh Patel, President, NRG Consumer. “By partnering with industry leaders like Renew Home and Google Cloud, we are set to deliver cutting-edge, AI-driven solutions that will bolster grid resilience and contribute to a more sustainable future. We are excited about the transformative impact this collaboration will have on our customers and the broader energy landscape.”
Texas is experiencing a significant increase in peak energy demand due to population, load growth, and extreme weather, reaching an unprecedented demand surge of 85 GW in 2023. Residential VPPs have the potential to provide large, reliable energy resources to help meet these peak demand needs. They work by aggregating numerous, small-scale distributed energy resources like HVAC systems controlled by smart thermostats and home batteries and coordinating them to balance supply and demand. Equipping homes with these smart devices gives control to the end consumer and empowers them to not only make an impact and be part of the solution in Texas but also to save energy and money.
A 1 GW VPP delivers capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand. To build the VPP, NRG, in partnership with Renew Home, plans to offer Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, including professional installation, at no cost to eligible customers across NRG’s retail electricity providers and plans. These advanced thermostats make subtle automatic HVAC adjustments to help customers shift their energy use to times when electricity is less constrained, less expensive, and cleaner. By combining smart devices, energy intelligence, and AI, this innovative program gives consumers comfort and control through a modern and efficient energy experience. Over time, the parties expect to add devices like batteries and electric vehicles to the VPP, expanding energy savings opportunities for customers.
“As rapid population growth and weather events create new challenges for meeting demand in ERCOT, VPPs can deliver a reliable, flexible and dispatchable energy resource,” said Ben Brown, Renew Home CEO. “NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program. This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.”
To maximize the impact of the VPP and other strategic initiatives, NRG will embark on a broad multi-year technology transformation with Google Cloud. Through the use of Google Cloud's data, analytics, and AI technology, NRG will be able to do things like better predict weather conditions, forecast wind and solar generation output, and create predictive pricing models, allowing for more efficient production and ultimately ensuring the home energy experience is seamless for customers.
"As we move toward a more sustainable future and face increasing energy demands, Google Cloud recognizes the importance of partnering with innovators like NRG and Renew Home to help transform the consumer energy experience with AI and the best of Google Cloud,” said Michael Clark, President, North America, Google Cloud. "Our collaboration will help Texas meet its growing energy demands, and also empower consumers to get more from their energy, smart home, and essential home services in the future.”
NRG and Renew Home expect to roll out their VPP program to Texas customers in the spring of 2025.
