Discussions about electric vehicles (EVs) often focus on the additional demands they will place on the electricity grid in the coming years, with concerns about grid reliability and the ability to meet peak demand often taking center stage. There’s no doubt that a widespread transition to electric vehicles would pose real challenges, but utilities in California and elsewhere are also starting to think creatively about how to turn those challenges into opportunity, though there are important obstacles to eliminate along the way, including necessary ones. purchase by electric vehicle owners. In today’s RBN blog, we explain the so-called California duck curve, show how certain electric vehicle solutions aim to address some of the current grid problems, and look at some ways to get vehicle drivers to electrics become active (and willing) participants in a vehicle. -to-grid (V2G) initiative, which is increasingly looking like an essential element in any long-term plan.
We first looked at EV charging in a 2021 blog, Electric Avenue, where we laid out the basics of charging technology and how the increased electrification of passenger transportation could affect the energy and electricity markets of California and Texas, two populous but very different states. Our A brilliant moment The series looked at the sudden burst of attention electric vehicles have received recently, including the impact of higher gas prices than last year in the electric vehicle market, and we’ve also explored how Inflation reduction law (IRA) is incentivize car manufacturers to make more electric vehicles (and batteries) in the U.S. while posing a challenge to automakers looking to meet the requirements for revised tax credits for electric vehicles.
In Part 1 in this series we discussed the introduction of bi-directional charging and V2G technology. In essence, V2G technology treats high-capacity electric vehicle batteries not only as energy sources to power cars, trucks and SUVs, but also as potential backup storage for the power grid. By using vehicles with two-way charging capabilities (such as the Ford F-150 Lightning) and advanced charging stations, electricity could be pushed (and pulled) from connected vehicles based on demand for electricity in a given moment It is part of a larger initiative known as vehicle-grid integration. While any significant scale for this kind of integration is still a long way off, the vision is that this extra energy could be used to power homes, other buildings, and ultimately anything connected to the grid.
