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Recent Progress in Virtual Power Plants

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F5: Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 1053

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Program on Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 92B33, Taiwan
Interests: intelligent energy management systems; nuclear and renewable energy; intelligent virtual power plant; carbon-neutral technologies in smart grid integration; net-zero technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, "Recent Progress in Virtual Power Plants", aims to highlight cutting-edge developments, innovative strategies, and practical applications in the field of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). As decentralized energy systems, demand response technologies, and grid digitalization continue to evolve, VPPs play a crucial role in aggregating and optimizing distributed energy resources (DERs), enhancing grid flexibility, and facilitating participation in energy markets.

This Special Issue invites original research articles, case studies, reviews, and short communications that explore recent theoretical advancements and real-world implementations of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs). Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Intelligent control and optimization strategies for virtual power plants;
  • Renewable energy forecasting models (solar, wind, and hybrid) for virtual power plant scheduling and dispatch;
  • Integration of renewable energy sources and energy storage into virtual power plants (VPPs);
  • AI and machine learning-based optimization for virtual power plant control and resource management;
  • Integration of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and demand-side flexibility;
  • Real-time operations and predictive control frameworks;
  • Applications in microgrids, smart grids, and net-zero energy communities.

We particularly encourage interdisciplinary contributions that bridge academia and industry while showcasing scalable and replicable Virtual Power Plant (VPP) solutions. Through this Special Issue, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of recent trends and future directions in the development of virtual power plants.

Dr. Ting-Chia Ou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virtual power plant (VPP)
  • renewable energy forecasting
  • solar power prediction
  • wind power prediction
  • artificial intelligence
  • machine learning
  • energy storage integration
  • distributed energy resources (DERs)
  • energy management system (EMS)
  • optimization algorithms
  • microgrid
  • smart grid
  • demand response
  • real-time control
  • energy market participation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 2575 KB  
Article
Coordinated Capacity Configuration Method for Distributed Resources of Virtual Power Plants Considering Time-Varying Power Coupling
by Lili Yao, Kaixin Zhao, Jun Shen, Liangwu Xu and Lingxiang Shen
Energies 2026, 19(3), 614; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19030614 - 24 Jan 2026
Viewed by 469
Abstract
This paper proposes a coordinated capacity configuration method for Virtual Power Plant (VPP) distributed resources that considers time-varying power coupling. The method addresses the inadequate economic efficiency and reliability of existing configuration schemes, which stems from insufficient attention to the time-varying power coupling [...] Read more.
This paper proposes a coordinated capacity configuration method for Virtual Power Plant (VPP) distributed resources that considers time-varying power coupling. The method addresses the inadequate economic efficiency and reliability of existing configuration schemes, which stems from insufficient attention to the time-varying power coupling characteristics of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Firstly, we define the concepts of direct and indirect power coupling among DERs, derive a Lagrange multiplier-based coupling coefficient model, and realize the quantification of time-varying coupling coefficients through sliding time window correlation analysis (STWCA). Next, a capacity correlation matrix integrating technical and economic synergies is constructed to map coupling characteristics to capacity configuration. Then, a coordinated configuration model with time-varying coupling constraints is established to minimize life-cycle cost and maximize power supply reliability, validated by case simulation. The results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively reduces VPP operation cost and improves resource utilization and reliability, providing theoretical support for the scientific configuration of DERs in VPPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress in Virtual Power Plants)
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