The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that technology companies want to quickly build lots of new power-hungry data centres to develop artificial intelligence, but the energy industry typically needs years to construct power plants, solar farms and battery installations. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe says three companies involved in installing and managing rooftop solar panels, home batteries, smart thermostats and other devices say they can solve the problem by tapping into devices -- millions of American houses and apartments. The companies are Tesla, rooftop solar and battery installer Sunrun and Renew Home, a Google spinoff that manages home thermostats and other devices. On Wednesday, they plan to announce that they are working together to free up enough electrical capacity to meet the needs of 17 large data centres during periods of high demand. For example, after getting individuals to opt in, the companies could use software to direct thousands of the consumers' home batteries to charge when there is an abundance of solar energy and then release that power after the sun has set. Home energy devices can effectively be knitted together to serve as a virtual power plant, in industry jargon.