Google to Pay Households and Businesses to Cut Power Use in 100 MW Virtual Power Plant Deal With Voltus
Google will finance a Mid-Atlantic grid program that pays households and businesses to reduce consumption at peak times, unlocking 100 MW for its data centers without new infrastructure.
news.google.comGoogle signed a first-of-its-kind "bring your own capacity" deal with startup Voltus in the week of June 8, 2026. The agreement creates a virtual power plant that unlocks 100 MW of energy for Google's data centers without any new infrastructure. S.
Grid that will pay other households and businesses to curb their consumption at certain times. Voltus will group together devices including electric vehicles and smart thermostats in a virtual network. Voltus will pay customers to participate in the program and manipulate energy flows to divert spare capacity to Google.
Google is the first customer for Voltus' new "bring your own capacity" program. Under the framework, hyperscalers commit to financing a virtual power plant program in the region where they need power for a data center, and Voltus delivers that contracted capacity directly to the load-serving entity. The pilot program with Google and Voltus is the largest and first of its kind.
The "bring your own capacity" framework is designed to help data centers bridge the capacity gap between now and the early 2030s. Energy demand from data centers in the United States is projected to increase by almost 360% between 2026 and 2030 to reach 110 GW.
A Duke University study found that if data centers limited consumption during peak hours, around 100 GW of new capacity could come online with zero new power plants or transmission equipment.
Sam Altman said "There's no way to get there without a breakthrough" at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Altman, Bill Gates, and other Silicon Valley players have been pushing for nuclear fusion development for years.
