Boulder to host Xcel ‘virtual power plant’ demonstration
October 21, 2024
Boulder has been chosen to host Xcel Energy Colorado’s upcoming demonstration of a “virtual power plant” concept.
Typically, energy utilities build bigger, centralized power plants that run on coal, gas, nuclear power and other types of energy. But in Boulder, many residents have solar panels, batteries and other smaller energy systems. A virtual power plant would harness the energy distributed across these smaller systems, according to Matt Lehrman, a senior policy adviser in Boulder’s Climate Initiatives department.
