How Google is building a gigawatt-scale power plant—without building a power plant

As hyperscalers pour billions of dollars into new power plants for data centers, Google is also investing in something different: making better use of the existing grid. The tech giant announced a new deal today for a gigawatt-sized virtual power plant (VPP), which appears to be the largest deal of its kind from a hyperscaler. The approach shrinks overall power demand at key moments.