Electric vehicle manufacturers, dealers and owners appear to assume that electricity will be there when they need a recharge. The growing volume of electric cars is beginning to make waves on grid availability during evening peak. We review the impact of electric vehicles on grid supply, and wonder what could be done to moderate this.
Electric Vehicle Impact In a Bi-Directional Relationship
The term ‘bi-directional’ means ‘moving in two directions’, usually opposite. So, for example an airline may offer a two-way, bi-directional service between two cities, let’s say London and Paris. In theory, community batteries do this every day as follows:
- A community storage battery recharges during off-peak, by absorbing surplus grid energy.
- The grid draws the same energy back from the community battery during peak demand.
- This bi-directional exchange reduces the need for additional peaking energy generation.
This arrangement works well for the utility, because it can sense the available energy, drain it down deeply, and rely on the resource to be there when it needs it.
Factors Reducing the Effectiveness of Electric Vehicles
In theory we could do the same with electric vehicles. However, the reality on the ground is different. All electric cars and hybrids have have plug-in charging capability from the grid.
Their drivers use this facility regularly, quite often after work when they return home. This coincides with late afternoon / early evening demand, and this is adding more strain to the grid.
Energy Post looks ahead to future smart discharging to the grid, whereby an operator switches on vehicle-to-grid charging when they need the boost.
Trials are in progress whereby volunteers earn money while they sleep peacefully at night. Well, we can dream of a positive impact of electric vehicles on the grid at least, although this will take time to materialize.
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