Real Electricity Flows from Virtual Power Plants

Real Electricity Flows from Virtual Power Plants

To reach a goal of getting 80 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2050, Germany plows subsidies into the smart grid.
From a computer screen in an office block in Dortmund, Germany a power-plant operator for utility giant RWE AG orchestrates the output of wind turbines, rooftop solar panels, and other renewable energy devices scattered across the surrounding Rhine-Ruhr region, one of Germany's most densely-populated. Using wireless links on the power equipment, and an energy-management system designed with German engineering giant Siemens, RWE has found a way to weave together dozens of small green-energy sources into a steady flow of electricity and government subsidies.