Texas, long synonymous with oil and gas, is emerging as a leader in clean energy innovation. Renew Home, a spinout of Google Nest, and NRG Energy have announced plans to create a 1-gigawatt virtual power plant (VPP) in Texas by 2035, leveraging millions of smart thermostats.

The initiative will begin in spring 2025, offering free installations of Nest and Vivint smart thermostats to Texas households through incentivized rate plans. By shifting energy use during peak times and integrating customer-owned assets like batteries and EV chargers, the VPP will improve grid reliability while reducing energy costs.

“Smart thermostats are the quickest path to scale and provide immediate value to customers,” said Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home.

The VPP is poised to transform grid management in Texas, where renewable energy growth and rising power demands have placed strain on the electricity system. By capitalizing on Texas’s competitive energy market, the program promises cost-effective grid resilience compared to traditional gas-fired plants.

Renew Home estimates Texas homes could contribute 8.5 gigawatts of load-shift capacity, significantly easing peak grid demands. The partnership with NRG and Google Cloud will optimize energy forecasting, combining customer data with real-time market analytics.

Why it matters: Texas’s push for VPPs highlights the potential for consumer-powered solutions to revolutionize grid reliability and efficiency.