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Electric vehicles will serve a much larger purpose than just transportation
Electric Vehicles: Mobile Agents of the Grid Edge
Electric vehicles will serve a much larger purpose than just transportation.
Magdalena Klemun
November 29, 2013
Electric vehicles are the mobile agent of the grid edge. The interest in decoupling transportation from fossil fuel consumption is primarily driven by environmental and economic motives, but grid-edge considerations focus on the system benefits of a large EV fleet. Instead of creating additional peaks by simultaneous charging of large numbers of vehicles, electric cars could make use of excess wind power at night, serve as mobile storage devices, and create new revenue streams for car owners. The EV market segment includes plug-in hybrid and electric-only EVs, vehicle-to-grid technologies, and smart charging solutions.
Deployment and Growth Projections
Plug-in electric vehicles sold twice as well in the first half of 2013 than they did in 2012, according to the DOE. This rate of growth in the market appears to be much faster than in the early phase of hybrid vehicles. Many industry observers point to this as a harbinger of massive success to come. However, even if the share of EVs relative to total car sales is increasing rapidly, it is still small, as the following chart illustrates. The market is bound to reach a turning point in the coming decade. Polk Research found that the U.S. car fleet hit a new record age of 11.4 years in 2013, up 16 percent from 2002. During the same period of time, fuel efficiencies have risen from a miles-per-gallon perspective, so the gap between old models and newer models with better fuel economy could spur increased demand in the short term. The Rocky Mountain Institute predicts that 50 percent of all U.S. vehicles will be electrified by 2050.
Trends, Thought Leaders, Vendors, Ideas
The EV market mirrors many challenges of the grid edge at a smaller scale. Factors to consider include:
U.S. efforts around V2G remain rare, but they do exist....
Electric vehicles will serve a much larger purpose than just transportation.
Magdalena Klemun
November 29, 2013
Electric vehicles are the mobile agent of the grid edge. The interest in decoupling transportation from fossil fuel consumption is primarily driven by environmental and economic motives, but grid-edge considerations focus on the system benefits of a large EV fleet. Instead of creating additional peaks by simultaneous charging of large numbers of vehicles, electric cars could make use of excess wind power at night, serve as mobile storage devices, and create new revenue streams for car owners. The EV market segment includes plug-in hybrid and electric-only EVs, vehicle-to-grid technologies, and smart charging solutions.
Deployment and Growth Projections
Plug-in electric vehicles sold twice as well in the first half of 2013 than they did in 2012, according to the DOE. This rate of growth in the market appears to be much faster than in the early phase of hybrid vehicles. Many industry observers point to this as a harbinger of massive success to come. However, even if the share of EVs relative to total car sales is increasing rapidly, it is still small, as the following chart illustrates. The market is bound to reach a turning point in the coming decade. Polk Research found that the U.S. car fleet hit a new record age of 11.4 years in 2013, up 16 percent from 2002. During the same period of time, fuel efficiencies have risen from a miles-per-gallon perspective, so the gap between old models and newer models with better fuel economy could spur increased demand in the short term. The Rocky Mountain Institute predicts that 50 percent of all U.S. vehicles will be electrified by 2050.
Trends, Thought Leaders, Vendors, Ideas
The EV market mirrors many challenges of the grid edge at a smaller scale. Factors to consider include:
Standardization: Standardization is a major stepping stone on the pathway to a plug-and-play environment of charging stations. The importance of standards is not limited to charging stations: if electric vehicles are to be part of a dynamic grid infrastructure, standardized communication protocols are just as important as OpenADR for demand response, in terms of creating a single language with which EVs and energy service providers can communicate.
New business models: Henry Ford’s factories might have given rise to the American dream, but the model of individual car ownership might not be sufficient to reach high EV penetration. New and emerging paradigms include car sharing, battery switching, web-enhanced leasing, and remuneration for power fed back into the grid. So far, no clearly dominant concept has emerged. Better Place’s battery-switching concept failed in Israel, mainly because few EV vendors enabled switching.
U.S. efforts around V2G remain rare, but they do exist....
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/electric-vehicles-mobile-agents-of-the-grid-edge
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
New Electric Vehicle Battery Can Help Power Buildings, Too
BY KILEY KROH ON DECEMBER 3, 2013 AT 9:15 AM
CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
Nissan is taking its electric vehicle to the next level, pioneering a new system that will enable companies to regulate their electricity bills by tapping into the electric vehicles their employees are driving to work.
The “Vehicle-To-Building” technology allows up to six Nissan Leafs to be connected to an office building’s power distribution board, the Daily Fusion reported. At peak hours, when energy demand is at its highest and electricity is most expensive, the building draws power from the cars. When demand slows and electricity is cheaper, it flows the other way. No matter how much electricity they provide, the system ensures the Nissan Leafs are fully charged by the end of the day for their owners to drive home.
...Nissan has conducted a successful field test of the Vehicle-To-Building system and has been using it at the company’s Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi City, Japan since July. According to the Daily Fusion, “the facility benefited from a reduction of 25.6 kW during peak summer periods by controlling the charging time of the electric cars, with no impact on the workers’ daily commute.”
And the results have been significant. The facility achieved a “2.5 percent reduction of electrical power use during peak hours, a saving of nearly 500,000 Yen (approx. $4,900) per year in electrical power cost (based on current Tokyo Electric Power Company’s rates).”...
BY KILEY KROH ON DECEMBER 3, 2013 AT 9:15 AM
CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK
Nissan is taking its electric vehicle to the next level, pioneering a new system that will enable companies to regulate their electricity bills by tapping into the electric vehicles their employees are driving to work.
The “Vehicle-To-Building” technology allows up to six Nissan Leafs to be connected to an office building’s power distribution board, the Daily Fusion reported. At peak hours, when energy demand is at its highest and electricity is most expensive, the building draws power from the cars. When demand slows and electricity is cheaper, it flows the other way. No matter how much electricity they provide, the system ensures the Nissan Leafs are fully charged by the end of the day for their owners to drive home.
...Nissan has conducted a successful field test of the Vehicle-To-Building system and has been using it at the company’s Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi City, Japan since July. According to the Daily Fusion, “the facility benefited from a reduction of 25.6 kW during peak summer periods by controlling the charging time of the electric cars, with no impact on the workers’ daily commute.”
And the results have been significant. The facility achieved a “2.5 percent reduction of electrical power use during peak hours, a saving of nearly 500,000 Yen (approx. $4,900) per year in electrical power cost (based on current Tokyo Electric Power Company’s rates).”...
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/03/3010981/electric-vehicle-powers-buildings/
