FT article on the economics of V2G EVs
Yng Liu
By Clive Cookson in San Diego
Published: February 19 2010 14:41 | Last updated: February 19 2010 14:41
Electricity grids could operate much more efficiently if they tapped
the vast amounts of power stored in the batteries of electric and
hybrid vehicles, to balance out fluctuations in supply and demand.
Vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, technology, which would enable electric car
owners to make money while storing power for the grid, was unveiled at
the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San
Diego on Friday.
The first experimental V2G system has just gone live at the University
of Delaware, where three electric cars are connected to the grid
whenever they are not being driven. “They are making five to ten
dollars a day just by being plugged in,” said Kenneth Huber,
technology manager for the PJM grid, which covers the mid-Atlantic
states.
The two-way connection not only pulls in power to recharge the battery
but also sends electricity back to the grid. V2G vehicles work like an
electrical sponge, absorbing excess energy when demand for power is
low, and returning some to the grid when demand is high, said Willett
Kempton, project leader at the University of Delaware.
This sort of load balancing will become increasingly important as
renewable energy sources, particularly wind, generate more
electricity.
“Vehicles we have now provide freedom and meet the needs of
individuals,” said Jeff Stein, engineering professor and V2G
researcher at the University of Michigan. “Hybrid and electric
vehicles can also be used in a completely different way, to be
something that is defined as being part of the greater good in concert
with others. It has fascinating possibilities.”
But the motive need not be altruism. Prof Kempton says his project
suggests that an investment in V2G technology could pay off very fast
for an electric car owner. Once the technology is commercialised, the
additional costs of fitting a V2G-enabled battery and charging system
would be about $1,500 – and the owner could make $3,000 a year through
a load-balancing contract with the grid.
V2G is economically viable because electric car owners are buying
batteries anyway, so it makes sense to use them for communal energy
storage. It would be much more costly for electric grids to install
stationary battery banks or other storage systems dedicated to load
balancing.
Existing vehicles cannot easily be retrofitted with V2G but in the
next five years as many as 1m electric cars are likely to be sold in
the US. Several manufacturers are assessing the technology, says Prof
Kempton. Tests have shown that V2G, installed properly, does not
reduce battery life.
With each car providing 10 kilowatts of power, 1m V2G cars would
provide a balancing reserve amounting to several gigawatts – reducing
the need for power station construction.
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