The time it takes to get power has become a deciding factor in real estate deals, with onsite power filling the gap. Infrastructure companies are buying microgrid capability, regulators are opening ways for building batteries to earn money and lenders are financing storage on fast timelines. Owners who can deliver power sooner, or sell flexibility back to the grid, gain an edge in leasing and valuation.
Key Takeaways
Data center power and cooling equipment manufacturer Vertiv will pay up to $2.6 billion for a microgrid controls company, saying “access to power has become a critical competitive advantage.”
California regulators ordered the state’s three largest utilities to coordinate customer batteries, EVs and flexible loads as grid resources.
A policy scorecard gave no state an A for virtual power plants; Colorado, California and four others earned a B.
A campus battery at UC San Diego closed financing six weeks after its term sheet, backed by a 10-year capacity contract.
Ford plans 20 GWh of battery storage production by the end of 2027, adding domestic supply.
A $2.6 Billion Signal
$2.6 billion. That is the most Vertiv, a maker of power and cooling equipment for data centers, will pay up to $2.6 billion for UtilityInnovation Group, a Raleigh, North Carolina, company that builds microgrid controls, custom switchgear and storage for onsite power. Vertiv paid about $1.45 billion in cash when the deal closed on October 27, with up to $1.15 billion more tied to performance targets.
“Access to power has become a critical competitive advantage,” said Vertiv chief executive Giordano Albertazzi. He said the deal offers customers “a coordinated solution, from behind-the-meter power generation to chip” and helps them “achieve faster time to power without tying them to a single generation technology or supplier.”
A microgrid is a set of onsite power sources, such as solar, batteries and generators, plus controls that let a building or campus run on its own when the grid is down or constrained. Behind the meter means on the customer’s side of the utility connection. When a major equipment vendor buys a company that packages both, it is betting that customers will pay for power they can count on sooner than the utility can deliver it.
Why Speed Became the Selling Point
In many markets, the wait for a new or larger utility connection now runs years, driven by queues of large loads and by equipment shortages; PwC analysts cited by pv magazine put lead times for high-capacity transformers at up to four years. During that wait, a finished building can sit unleased. A tenant that needs power this year will choose a site that can provide it this year.
That is the gap onsite power fills. A building with solar, batteries and controls can supply part of its own load, ride through outages and, where rules allow, sell flexibility back to the grid. Vertiv’s purchase price, about 13 times UtilityInnovation Group’s expected 2027 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, shows how much investors now value that capability.
Regulators Open Ways for Buildings to Get Paid
On October 29, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) directed Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric to propose a common framework for coordinating customer batteries, EVs and other flexible resources to meet local grid needs. Starting with the 2028 to 2029 planning cycle, utilities must also model how flexible loads could reduce the need for grid upgrades. “Making better use of the grid we already have can help us connect customers sooner and keep costs down,” said Commissioner Christine Harada.
The framework must address how devices communicate, how data is shared, cybersecurity and customer protections, and must avoid paying twice for the same service. “I will be particularly interested in proposals regarding affordability and competitive neutrality,” said CPUC President John Reynolds, signaling that third-party providers should be able to compete with utilities.
Policy elsewhere is uneven. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) graded state rules for virtual power plants, the networks of homes and businesses paid to adjust their power use, and gave no state an A. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland and New York earned a B; most states failed. Colorado lost points for unequal access between customer-owned, third-party and utility-owned resources and for allowing penalties on participants.
ILSR’s top grade requires, among other things, a clear compensation mechanism that varies by time or location, equal treatment of customer-owned and third-party resources, open access for multiple aggregators, no penalties on participants and eligibility for both residential and commercial customers. Those are the features that determine whether a commercial building can actually earn money from its equipment.
Hyperscalers are also paying for flexibility directly. In October, Google expanded an agreement with Voltus to build a 1 GW virtual power plant in the PJM region, paying businesses and homes to cut use during grid peaks. And PJM’s proposed emergency capacity purchase allows new demand response and distributed energy resources to compete for long-term contracts.
Buildings Are Proving It Works
Indoor storage is reaching residential and mixed-use buildings. In Buffalo, New York, a 3.75 MWh battery installed inside Peace Bridge Place, an all-electric affordable housing building, earns payments from National Grid for reducing its draw during grid strain and can carry the building through outages for several days. Its maker, Viridi, says the system meets Underwriters Laboratories standards for indoor installation without added fire suppression.
The potential is large. A 2020 Department of Energy analysis estimated that flexible operation of building systems could cut national summer peak demand by about 97 GW in technical potential.
Financing Moves Faster
Money is following. Crux, a clean energy finance platform, arranged a construction-to-term loan for EnerSmart’s 8 MW, 40 MWh battery at the University of California San Diego, which connects directly to the campus microgrid and is backed by a 10-year resource adequacy contract, a payment for being available when the grid needs capacity. Crux said it secured competing offers within three weeks and closed six weeks after the term sheet, enlarging the loan to cover tariff-driven equipment cost increases.
Supply is growing too. Ford told investors on October 28 that it is preparing to bring 20 GWh a year of battery storage production online by the end of 2027 and that contracts and late-stage talks cover more than 80% of 2028 capacity. The U.S. Department of Energy counts about 33 GW of virtual power plants in North America and sees 80 to 160 GW possible by 2030.
What It Means for Owners: Implications
Power availability now affects which tenants a property can win and how fast it can start earning rent. Buildings that can deliver power sooner, through onsite generation, storage or flexible connections, have a leasing advantage in constrained markets. Equipment that once served only as backup can now earn money in programs that pay for flexibility.
Opportunities
Bridge the wait. Onsite generation and storage can carry a building until a utility upgrade arrives, letting tenants move in sooner.
Earn from flexibility. Batteries, controllable HVAC and EV charging can enroll in utility and wholesale programs, especially in states with strong virtual power plant rules.
Use third-party capital. As the UC San Diego deal shows, a developer can own and finance the battery while the host gains resilience and lower peak costs.
Market the capability. In leasing materials, state how much onsite power, storage and backup a property offers and how quickly service can be delivered. Tenants comparing sites increasingly ask.
Plan for coordination. California’s order signals that utilities will increasingly call on customer resources. Building controls that can respond to utility signals will be worth more.
Risks
State rules vary. The same battery can earn revenue in a B state and little in an F state. Check program rules before sizing systems.
Performance obligations. Capacity and flexibility payments carry penalties for failing to deliver when called.
Equipment costs. Tariffs have raised storage prices; build contingency into budgets and confirm who carries tariff risk.
Vendor concentration. Single-vendor packages can speed delivery but limit future flexibility; Vertiv itself pitches its offer as technology-neutral.
Local rules. Some data center ordinances limit generator use and prohibit using generators for peak shaving. Read local codes before counting on generators for revenue.
What to Watch
The utilities’ California coordination proposals, PJM’s March 2027 capacity purchase and whether more states raise their virtual power plant grades. Owners should inventory flexible loads now and ask energy advisers which programs their buildings qualify for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does time to power mean?
The time between requesting electric service and receiving it. In constrained markets, utility upgrades can take years, which delays leasing and revenue.
What is a microgrid?
A set of onsite power sources and controls that let a building or campus run independently of the grid when needed.
Which states have the strongest virtual power plant policies?
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance gave a B, its highest grade, to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland and New York.
Can a building battery earn money?
Yes, in programs that pay for capacity or flexibility, such as utility demand response, resource adequacy contracts and aggregator-run virtual power plants.
Sources
American Public Power Association. “Google and Voltus Announce One Gigawatt Bring Your Own Capacity Agreement in PJM.” Oct. 23, 2026. https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/google-and-voltus-announce-one-gigawatt-bring-your-own-capacity-agreement-pjm
California Public Utilities Commission. “CPUC Advances Integration of Customer Energy Resources Into California’s Electric Grid.” Oct. 29, 2026. https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-advances-integration-of-customer-energy-resources
Data Center Dynamics. “Vertiv Acquires Microgrid Company UtilityInnovation.” 2026. https://datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/vertiv-acquires-microgrid-company-utilityinnovation
MarketBeat. “Ford Motor Q3 Earnings Call Highlights.” Oct. 28, 2026. https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/transcript-ford-motor-q3-earnings-call-highlights-2026-10-28/
PJM Interconnection. “Reliability Backstop Procurement Fact Sheet.” 2026. https://www.pjm.com/-/media/DotCom/about-pjm/newsroom/fact-sheets/reliability-backstop-procurement-fact-sheet.pdf
pv magazine USA. “U.S. Transformer Market Faces Severe Supply Constraints as Lead Times Extend to Four Years.” May 11, 2026. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/05/11/u-s-transformer-market-faces-severe-supply-constraints-as-lead-times-extend-to-four-years/
Renewable Energy Magazine. “Crux Facilitates Construction-to-Term Loan Financing for EnerSmart.” Oct. 29, 2026. https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/storage/crux-facilitates-constructiontoterm-loan-financing-for-enersmart-20261029
Renewable Energy World. “The Best (and Worst) States for Virtual Power Plants and Community Power.” Oct. 28, 2026. https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/energy-business/policy-and-regulation/the-best-and-worst-states-for-virtual-power-plants-and-community-power/
SolarQuarter. “Crux Arranges Construction-to-Term Financing for 40 MWh Battery Storage Project at UC San Diego.” Oct. 30, 2026. https://solarquarter.com/2026/10/30/crux-arranges-construction-to-term-financing-for-40-mwh-battery-storage-project-at-uc-san-diego/
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Associated Press). “Can Larger Batteries Safely Power Residential Buildings?.” Oct. 20, 2026. https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/10/can-larger-batteries-safely-power-residential-buildings-a-project-in-new-york-aims-to-show-how/
U.S. Department of Energy. “National Potential of Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings.” June 2020. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/06/f76/bto-geb-potential-062520.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy. “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Virtual Power Plants.” 2025. https://liftoff.energy.gov/vpp/
Vertiv. “Vertiv Completes Acquisition of UtilityInnovation Group.” Oct. 27, 2026. https://investors.vertiv.com/news/news-details/2026/Vertiv-Completes-Acquisition-of-UtilityInnovation-Group/default.aspx