Review on Virtual Power Plants/Virtual Aggregators: Concepts, applications, prospects and operation strategies

Mateus Kaiss, Yihao Wan, Daniel Gebbran, Clodomiro Unsihuay Vila and Tomislav Dragičević

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025, vol. 211, issue C

Abstract: A Virtual Power Plant (VPP), Virtual Aggregator (VA), or simply Aggregator, represents the association of several Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) orchestrated to create economic, energy, and social benefits for prosumers, energy markets, and service operators. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of VPPs, covering key topics, including energy markets, required technology, control methods, ancillary services, and financial benefits. Initially, this review discusses the main technologies for implementing VPPs, focusing on energy, informational, and financial exchanges. It categorizes VPPs based on existing literature, both theoretically and mathematically, into Commercial VPP, Technical VPP, VPP 0.0 – 3.0, Fog as VPP, Electrical Vehicle VPP, and Dynamic VPP. Additionally, VPP control techniques are presented, highlighting centralized, decentralized, distributed, and comprehensive controls. The economic aspects are explored, particularly the relationships among new participants in electrical networks, game theory, and tariff characteristics. The review also discusses electricity market models and how VPPs provide ancillary services, analyzing each service in detail. Finally, the global context is considered, emphasizing important cases and their relevance to the reviewed topics. This work aims to highlight the primary aspects of VPPs, providing a solid foundation for their further development and implementation, especially in the context of increasing DER aggregation, by distinguishing the different types of VPPs and their interactions with key aspects of VPP operations.

Keywords: Virtual Power Plants; Aggregators; Distributed energy resources; Ancillary services; Game theory; Tariffs; Implementations; Regulatory; Electricity markets; Categories (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.115242

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