Virtual Power Plants: A New Era of Energy Management in Modern Power Systems

As nations aspire to achieve the crucial target of maximum dependency on sustainable energy sources, it is a high time to think about how to address the greatest obstacles associated with the development of this emerging energy system. Of note, the volatile existence of most renewable energy sources is one of the main obstacles. The modern energy network is facing radical changes with the introduction of clean energy sources (RES) for the future carbon-free world. The usage of intermittent and variable renewable-green power requires a reliable energy storage system capable of handling resources and a virtual power plant (VPP) may be a key candidate to fulfil this need. A VPP is a cloud-based dispersed power plant that aggregates the potential of various distributed energy resources (DER) coming from disparate locations for enhancing power generation as well as exchanging or selling power taking place in the electricity market. This paper is intended to make an attempt to highlight the benefits of a virtual power plant and discuss its various merits over a conventional power plant especially in terms of reducing the harmful emissions which are a primary source of the later. VPPs are expected to promote the introduction and expansion of renewable energy and contribute to a decarbonized society.