1. A method for configuring a microgrid comprising a virtual power plant having a plurality of power generation sources and a plurality of power loads, the method comprising: pinging each element in a plurality of microgrid elements to verify a configuration of the plurality of micro grid elements; initializing, based on a result of the pinging, a first configuration of the microgrid having a plurality of distributed energy resources and the plurality of microgrid elements, the plurality distributed energy resources being autonomous and the plurality of microgrid elements being connected in a peer-to-peer processor network, wherein a plurality of distributed energy resources include at least one small scale power generation element selected from at least one of a wind turbine, a photovoltaic system, a fuel cell, a geothermal power generator, a microturbine, a combustion turbine, a reciprocating engine, a hybrid power generator that uses both heat and power, or a hydroelectric power generator; receiving status data from the plurality of microgrid elements that indicates a reconfiguration of the microgrid; responsive to receiving status data from the plurality of microgrid elements that indicates the reconfiguration of the microgrid, re-aligning the plurality of microgrid elements to form a second grid configuration; and executing the second grid configuration.