Why are Google and GM interested in virtual power plants? | Kalkine Media They're being billed as a cleaner and greener way to avoid blackouts. And they could be one solution to a looming global energy crisis. But what are virtual power plants - and why are companies like Google and GM getting involved? Virtual power plants - or VPPs - are pools of decentralized energy resources. Resources like electric vehicles - or electric heaters controlled by smart thermostats. The VPPs will - with permission from customers - use advanced software to react to electricity shortages by backing off the consumption of those resources. It'll use techniques like switching thousands of EVs from charge to discharge mode. Or prompt electrical heaters to lower their output.