Toyota is partnering with San Diego’s largest utility company to explore using the grid to power electric vehicles (EVs) but also give back to it. Toyota Motor North America and the San Diego…
Agreed. Now how many cars will be home in the afternoon when AC ramps up? How many will return from a commute with enough charge to help the grid in the evenings?
Good questions. IMO it’s all a numbers game and there are lots of unknowns. OTOH, once we’re transitioned to all electric, even having only 1% of cars plugged in and able to supply 10 kwhs at any given time could provide a lot of backup. For example in CA, 1% of passenger vehicles is around 140,000 units and that could cover a 1.4 GW power plant outage for an hour. If the number of cars at the ready was more like 10%, that’d be enough reserve power to run 1/3 of the CA grid for an hour. So depending on how the math works out, it could be significant.
That said, it might turn out that fixed home batteries end up providing the grid with all the reserve power it needs for emergencies and there’s no value in v2g. I really could see it going either way.
I think the most likely outcome is that a smallish percent of EVs end up with v2g as a side-effect of having v2h, which people pay for as an option for home backup. In my area in NH, higher income folks in rural areas regularly pay $10k for a backup generator and v2h could be an acceptable substitute for a generator for many. Automatic home generators are a pain because they run for a test cycle each week (noisy) and also they cost a couple hundred a year to maintain. Plus you need a gas hookup or a propane tank, which adds another ongoing cost/headache.
Agreed. Now how many cars will be home in the afternoon when AC ramps up? How many will return from a commute with enough charge to help the grid in the evenings?
Good questions. IMO it’s all a numbers game and there are lots of unknowns. OTOH, once we’re transitioned to all electric, even having only 1% of cars plugged in and able to supply 10 kwhs at any given time could provide a lot of backup. For example in CA, 1% of passenger vehicles is around 140,000 units and that could cover a 1.4 GW power plant outage for an hour. If the number of cars at the ready was more like 10%, that’d be enough reserve power to run 1/3 of the CA grid for an hour. So depending on how the math works out, it could be significant.
That said, it might turn out that fixed home batteries end up providing the grid with all the reserve power it needs for emergencies and there’s no value in v2g. I really could see it going either way.
I think the most likely outcome is that a smallish percent of EVs end up with v2g as a side-effect of having v2h, which people pay for as an option for home backup. In my area in NH, higher income folks in rural areas regularly pay $10k for a backup generator and v2h could be an acceptable substitute for a generator for many. Automatic home generators are a pain because they run for a test cycle each week (noisy) and also they cost a couple hundred a year to maintain. Plus you need a gas hookup or a propane tank, which adds another ongoing cost/headache.