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Salon duc Tape – The Virtual Power Plant Revolution – January 27^th

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How can “the power of the people” move us closer toward 100% renewable electricity?

Join us on Friday, January 27^th for a presentation by Bill Althouse on how a radical, disruptive technology shift in the electric power industry can drive the adoption of renewables and lower costs for everyone.  The electric power industry is in the process of moving from a centralized to a decentralized system.  Consumers are becoming “prosumers” by owning Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), so they can sell energy and services to the grid.  A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) can be like a local solar farmer’s market enabling you to sell your solar power to your neighbor.  VPPs can  maximize and capture these revenues to become an engine of local economic development with a very high economic multiplier.  VPPs are renewable, less expensive, and more reliable than the 100 year old centralized fossil grid technologies that will soon be obsolete.  We will discuss how VPPs are dominating electricity markets worldwide, how VPPs can be deployed in Colorado, how they operate, how they can pay you, how every consumer can become a prosumer without an out of pocket investment, and how VPPs will lower electric rates.

Bill has 40 years in distributed energy resource engineering, harnessing local energy sources as a means of community economic development.  There are many institutional and regulatory barriers to DERs, so he has long been very active in development of fair national standards for DERs, biofuels, and sustainable materials.  He has extensive experience in renewables, energy efficiency, building science, cogeneration, energy storage, and biofuels.  Bill is a member of the Fort Collins Energy Board, although the views he will express at the salon will be his own.  A few of Bill’s other memberships include the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEE), the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union (RMFU).

Salon duc Tape, a public forum sponsored by the Northern Colorado Alliance for a Livable Future, usually meets on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month from 7:00 — 9:00 p.m. via Zoom.  We will continue to meet virtually until COVID-19 is no longer a serious public health threat.  You will need to register in advance for this salon here.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information – including a new link – about joining the salon.