Decentralized Energy: Crypto-Enabled Virtual Power Plants

Alliance, which funds crypto-energy startups, argues that crypto can help virtual power plants (VPPs) reach the critical mass needed to close a projected US electricity supply-demand gap. The US Department of Energy estimates a ~200 GW peak gap from 2023 to 2030 and aims for 50-100 GW of VPPs to help fill it, while China's 14th Five-Year Plan targets demand-side response of 5%-6% of peak load by 2030. OhmConnect, the largest US residential VPP operator, has connected fewer than 300,000 households, while Alliance-funded Starpower, a DePIN for VPPs, has sold 20,000 devices.