Mall turns into virtual power plant in green push

One of Sweden’s biggest shopping malls could become a key player in the energy market in northern Europe.

Vala, which houses more than 200 shops and dates back four decades, is poised to along with other big electricity consumers to become increasingly important in providing grid stability at a time when the share of intermittent renewable power is rising. By reducing or increasing consumption in short bursts, the facilities will be vital in keeping the network balanced in the future.

The opportunity for everyone from server halls to charging points for electrical cars to participate as virtual power plants in these new markets have come from the unprecedented retirement of Europe’s old nuclear and coal power stations in the past few years.