Many energy companies work to manage the growing complexity of the electric grid, especially as the demand for renewable energy surges and traditional systems become outdated.
Dr. William Burke saw this challenge firsthand during his graduate studies at UC Berkeley, where he worked on projects focused on controlling thermostats to benefit electric utilities and homeowners. The potential of using smart devices to manage energy demand while supporting renewable energy adoption sparked his passion. This experience, combined with a personal mission to combat climate change after the birth of his daughter, eventually led to the creation of Virtual Peaker, a company backed by cutting-edge technology and innovation.
Virtual Peaker is committed to helping utilities address peak energy demand, manage renewable intermittency, and engage customers through its comprehensive platform. With a dedicated team of fifty individuals working across the country, the company is on a mission to make the transition to a carbon-free grid a reality.
We asked William a few questions about his journey, inspirations, and his vision for the future of the energy industry.
How did you become interested in utility energy/organization?
WB: In 2006, during my first year of graduate school at UC Berkeley, I started a project centered around controlling thermostats for the good of both the electric utility and the homeowner. This work generated significant excitement as it held the promise of using smart devices to manage energy demand, tackle the issue of renewable intermittency, and advance green energy adoption—all crucial steps in the fight against climate change. As a fanatical engineer, I was captivated by the intellectual and technical challenge of orchestrating millions of independent devices, a task as complex as herding cats but profoundly stimulating.
What inspired you to become a founder of a company?
WB: A few years after I started graduate school, my life took a profound turn when my oldest daughter was born nine weeks premature and spent six weeks in the hospital learning to breathe. Those weeks were both the most joyous and frightening of my life. The experience of witnessing the intersection of science, engineering, and human compassion, all working to secure a hopeful future for my daughter, profoundly shifted my perspective. I was resolute in ensuring that climate change would not jeopardize that future. This personal experience ignited a new level of passion and urgency in my work.
This newfound commitment became the cornerstone of my dissertation and drove my pursuit through various startups and Fortune 50 companies. Despite navigating the highs and lows of successful technology deployments and failed market launches, each experience provided invaluable lessons.
Ultimately, those lessons led to the founding of Virtual Peaker, with a clear vision: to make electricity demand as controllable as a gas turbine generator.
Climate change will disrupt all of our lives, even non-coastal locations like our hometown of Louisville, KY. We aim to make it as easy as possible for utility companies to adopt zero-carbon energy production technologies to help stop or reverse the global temperature increase.
Tell us about your team. Who’s on it, and how did you meet?
WB: I am fortunate enough to have an amazing team—the smartest, hardest working, and friendliest in the energy industry. We have about 50 people across the country working tirelessly to bring our shared vision to reality. We are helping to accelerate the clean energy transition to the carbon-free electricity grid, ultimately securing a brighter future for future generations. It’s an honor to work with such dedicated individuals.
Where do you see utility energy/organization headed in the future?
LB: Driven by climate change, customers, regulators, and investors are putting profound pressure on utilities to decarbonize by adopting renewable energy like solar and wind. Unfortunately, renewable energy is not as reliable as fossil fuels fired by power plants because you can’t control renewables, meaning you can’t control when the wind blows or the sun shines. This problem is called renewable intermittency.
Additional pressures are being placed on utilities' infrastructure as consumers shift their energy usage away from fossil fuels and toward the grid. Residential heat pumps replacing gas furnaces and electric vehicles replacing ICE vehicles are two trends driving a surge in energy usage and peaking demand on the grid. Frankly, our hundred-year-old grid wasn’t built for these use cases.
These trends are driving utilities toward new tools to help mitigate the issues. Importantly, the utility cannot forget about the customer while searching for the solution because the trends are, at least in part, driven by the customers. Therefore, utilities are adopting customer-savvy digital tools that help them solve their problems while engaging and delighting their customers. That’s where Virtual Peaker comes in. Our platform helps utilities:
- Address peak demand by leveraging demand response programs
- Manage renewable intermittency by forecasting energy demand and optimizing grid operations
- Engage customers by providing personalized energy insights and empowering them to make informed decisions
With Virtual Peaker, utilities can navigate the challenges of the energy transition while delivering exceptional customer experiences.
What does success look like to Virtual Peaker in the short and long term?
WB: We are a small team tackling a huge problem! Climate change will disrupt all of our lives, even non-coastal locations like our hometown of Louisville, KY. We aim to make it as easy as possible for utility companies to adopt zero-carbon energy production technologies to help stop or reverse the global temperature increase.
So, how can we have the largest impact on climate change? Scale! We are working tirelessly to deploy our technology in as many utilities as possible across North America and, ultimately, the world.
Find out more about Virtual Peaker at virtual-peaker.com. Are you a startup based in or looking to relocate to Kentucky? Keyhorse’s current quarterly investment cycle is open! Apply now.
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