Khalil Gholami, Mohammad Taufiqul Arif, Md Enamul Haque, Ali Arefi, S.M. Muyeen
Although the integration of renewable energy sources (RES), battery storage systems, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, and power-to-gas (P2G) have been introduced for expediting the net-zero target achievements, however they introduce significant challenges related to resource management, operational coordination, system stability, and so on. Virtual power plants (VPPs) have emerged as effective aggregators of the aforementioned distributed resources to facilitate coordinated operations within evolving power systems. However, understanding the cutting-edge advancements in VPP development requires a comprehensive review and criticalcomparison of existing research in this field. This article therefore presents a comprehensive review associated with the recent technologies that enable VPPs to strategically participate in future electricity markets. This study particularly examines key topics such as demand response programming, uncertainty management, multi-level VPP interactions across the power system, V2G integration, P2G applications, ancillary services, and multi-energy market participation. The existing methodologies, benefits, limitations, and applications are thus analyzed across different market contexts, offering a thorough comparative assessment. This utter review not only presents valuable insights for researchers and industry stakeholders to grasp the role of VPPs and their transformative impacts on modern energy markets but also enhances their strategic integration into future power systems.