
The case for using prices rather than VPPs to coordinate distributed energy
From Volts by David Roberts
May 8, 2026 · 1h 30m
About this episode
Bruce Nordman discusses the advantages of using dynamic retail prices over VPPs for coordinating distributed energy resources.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Most people think that coordinating the behavior of thousands of distributed energy resources requires some kind of third-party middleman, like an aggregator managing a VPP. My guest today, veteran research scientist Bruce Nordman, believes there’s a better way: dynamic, time- and location-specific retail prices, communicated directly to consumer devices, which would cut out the middleman and leave more value with customers.
People in this episode
Host: David Roberts
Guest: Bruce Nordman
Topics covered
- distributed energy
- retail prices
- energy coordination
- VPP
- consumer devices
Keywords
- distributed energy resources
- dynamic pricing
- VPP
- energy management
- consumer devices
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Volts, www.volts.wtf
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