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... NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) today announced it is partnering with Renew Home, a leading 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. ...