Along with the upsurge in renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, there has also been an increase in the manufacture of electric vehicles. However, with the electrification of the transportation sector, the world’s power system, the electrical grid,’ will need to prepare for a new and unprecedented demand for power and energy.
One way technology is helping electrical grid operators to meet these challenges is in the creation of innovative systems that allow electric vehicles to communicate with the electrical grid, using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.
What is vehicle-to-grid? V2G is a system in which plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), communicate with the power grid to sell demand response services by either returning electricity to the grid or by throttling their charging rate.
To utilize V2G technology, the electric vehicle (EV) must be “gridable,” that is, BEVs and PHEVs with grid capacity. At any given time, 95 percent of cars are parked, so the batteries in EVs could be used to let electricity flow from the car to the electric distribution network and back.
V2G project going on in Europe
To that end, Rome, Italy-based Enel Energy, along with Nissan, Mitsubishi, and PSA Groupe, have been working together to pave the way for a roll-out of V2G. Projects have been initiated that will help in developing infrastructure that enables EVs to intelligently communicate with the grid to determine when charging, and ultimately discharging, can take place.
The Parker Project, going on in Denmark is using a fleet of EVs to demonstrate the technology in a real-life setting. One aim of the project is to clear the path for V2G-integration with other OEMs as well as calculating the business case for several types of V2G, including Adaptive charging, overload protection, peak shaving, emergency backup and frequency balancing.
“If you blindingly deploy in the market a massive number of electric cars without any visibility or control over the way they impact the electricity grid, you might create new problems,” said Francisco Carranza, director of energy services at Nissan Europe, in an interview with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Vehicles in the Parker Project also earn money by feeding power back to the electrical grid. Fleet operators a collect about 1,300 euros ($1,530) a year using the two-way charge points that have been set up, said Carranza. According to CleanTechnica, the Danish installation utilizes 10 V2G chargers and 10 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans, which are capable of feeding power back to the electrical grid.
“Enel is taking major steps in the development of smart grids with the aim of effectively integrating renewables into distribution grids, as well as creating an active role for the customer in the energy market,” said Livio Gallo, the head of Global Infrastructure and Networks at the Italian utility.
The bottom line is this – As more and more people turn to electric vehicles, there will be an increased demand on the electrical grid. So we need the V2G system, and by using the technology in our infrastructure now, not only will we be fueling the electrification of transportation, we will be preparing for the future.
