Grid Congestion Is Holding Back Business. Virtual Power Plants Could Help

Get in touch - leave me a message Grid congestion is no longer just a utility headache. In places such as the Netherlands, it can obstruct business expansion just as AI data centres add pressure to electricity networks. I speak with Marco Krapels, Senior Vice President and CMO at Enphase Energy, about a counterintuitive idea: homes equipped with solar, batteries and bidirectional EV charging could help provide the grid flexibility businesses increasingly need. We explore what would make these virtual power plants dependable enough for utilities to trust, why stored energy is not the same as guaranteed capacity, and whether more efficient data centres actually mean lower emissions. The engineering matters. So do the incentives and regulations. Listen now to discover what could ease grid congestion, what could stop it working, and why energy flexibility belongs in business infrastructure planning. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident