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Virtual power plants rise to tackle data center challenge
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Fusion42 · 21 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
Virtual power plants—aggregated networks of batteries, EVs, and smart thermostats—are becoming primary peak-load suppliers to data centers and utilities across the US, with capacity rising 13.7% to 37.5 GW in 2025 and major tech firms (Google, Tesla, Sunrun) now building 16 GW+ VPPs to serve hyperscalers. State-sponsored programs and private partnerships demonstrate VPPs can deliver equivalent grid capacity at one-twentieth the cost and one-tenth the build time of gas plants.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Climate Tech.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
If you sell batteries, HVAC controls, or EV charging hardware, hyperscalers are now your distribution channel—they're building VPPs and will buy aggregated capacity from whoever controls the devices in millions of homes. The $43m gas plant alternative just became a $2m software problem, and you're the infrastructure piece they'll buy at scale.
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1 source · 21 Jul 2026
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