Vehicle-to-grid power implementation

[kristopher]

Vehicle-to-grid power implementation: From stabilizing the
grid to supporting large-scale renewable energy
Willett Kempton ∗ , Jasna Tomi
University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
8 December 2004

Abstract
Vehicle-to-grid power (V2G) uses electric-drive vehicles (battery, fuel cell, or hybrid) to provide power for specific electric markets. This
article examines the systems and processes needed to tap energy in vehicles and implement V2G. It quantitatively compares today’s light
vehicle fleet with the electric power system. The vehicle fleet has 20 times the power capacity, less than one-tenth the utilization, and one-tenth
the capital cost per prime mover kW. Conversely, utility generators have 10–50 times longer operating life and lower operating costs per kWh.
To tap V2G is to synergistically use these complementary strengths and to reconcile the complementary needs of the driver and grid manager.
This article suggests strategies and business models for doing so, and the steps necessary for the implementation of V2G. After the initial
high-value, V2G markets saturate and production costs drop, V2G can provide storage for renewable energy generation. Our calculations
suggest that V2G could stabilize large-scale (one-half of US electricity) wind power with 3% of the fleet dedicated to regulation for wind, plus
8–38% of the fleet providing operating reserves or storage for wind. Jurisdictions more likely to take the lead in adopting V2G are identified.


This and other reports on V2G available at: http://www.udel.edu/V2G/

[IDemo]

1. Electrifying transportation and implementation of V2G would do more for energy independence

than any number of ANWR's, along with simultaneously creating less greenhouse gases. No "Apollo Project" needed.

[bluebellbaby]

2. So true...but I don't think anyone is listening...

[kristopher]

3. You couldn't be more wrong.

There is considerable excitement about this at many levels - for example the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is solidly behind it; Google is funding development research; Seattle and San Francisco and a couple of other municipalities are working it into their mass transit planning; and Pepco Holdings, one of the largest ISO's in the country is providing strong support for development.

At this stage, development means field testing.

[bluebellbaby]

5. thanks for the info...first I've heard of the support...

I'm a pessimist at heart...most people don't do anything unless they have to...great news if it's true...

[Old and In the Way]

4. Interesting concept

Having vehicles as not only as transportation vehicles, but storage batteries and load equalizers for a national energy grid is an overlooked benefit. A progressive administration ought to make the case that a national decentralized energy system would decrease our reliance on ME oil, increasing our national security, and reduce our need for a draining 700+BB defense industry needed to sustain a Big Oil energy plan. Plus it would create a meaningful new economy, jobs, and a future for our kids.

[NNadir]

6. Anti-nukes have no limit to their love of cars.

They really have the ethical depth of lemons, not that I wish to insult lemons.

One can say this much about this detestable lot, they have no limit to how revolting they can be.

Cars are unacceptable because they are point source polluters of the worst sort.

Cars were the first warning sign from God that distributed energy is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very bad idea. Predictably this form of distributed energy has proved to be an unparalleled disaster to the environment and mark my words, all similar schemes - all pushed by yuppies with complete indifference to humanity - will prove equally as bad.

Oh and another thing. You can't be an anti-nuke if you know the laws of thermodynamics, but a generator is not a form of energy. It is an energy conversion device. Energy conversion devices waste energy. It's called "The Second Law of Thermodynamics." It seems to be mysterious to certain cults, but then again all cults involve mysterious thinking.

I fully understand that the car cult intends to rip up every last mountain in North America (and on every other continent) to fuel their filthy fantasies - probably with an ill fated Fischer-Tropsch adventure that will kill more people and more ecosystems faster than any other option.

The game is about over any way, but anyone who endorses this kind of crap cannot have enough contempt heaved on them.

This is Walmart Greenwashing Rocky Mountain Institute type murder.

[diane in sf]

7. Great idea, a variety of groups are pushing this here including PG&E and other power

companies, legislators and environmentalists.

I'd like an Ox by Think car or something better. It would meet my needs for hauling people and stuff and is crash tested, not a golf cart disguised as an auto. Electric cars also tend to be much lower maintenance than gas explosion powered vehicles:

http://www.think.no/

Electric cars can be very cheap to fuel, PG&E estimates about 40 cents a night to charge and these cars should go for 120 miles on a charge with current batteries.

[kristopher]

8. Preferred parking?

Because of the money they'd save on their electric bill, I heard that BART was thinking of putting a reserved wired parking area in a preferred location at suburban stations and leasing a fleet of V2G to commuters. That was nearly two years ago, did anything come of it yet?

[Dead_Parrot]

9. I don't buy it

If billions of Li-ion batteries were a sane sane way to store electricity on a TWh scale, I reckon the power co's would already be doing it.

I notice they're not.

[kristopher]

10. Your criticism is childish

That logic sounds like what we hear about solar and wind. "Power companies" are all over this; so your founding an opinion on bad data collection. 5 years ago, a google search would have returned maybe half a dozen hits; do one now. A lot of the interest is related to natural gas prices and an industry acknowledgment that we are facing a carbon constrained future.

Did you go to the website and read any of the material? In other words, do you have any legitimate criticisms?

Most great ideas simply state the obvious, but it is only obvious once you have the idea in your head.

[Dead_Parrot]

16. A shitload of studies...

...do not make reality. Diane's comment suggest something a little more concrete than anything I saw in the OP article, so I'll look into that.

[diane in sf]

14. Not true, PG&E is pushing it here in Northern california, but it's a multi-party deal,

so you are into the mating elephants procedural issues of getting something new started.

[Dead_Parrot]

17. Cheers, I'll take a look. nt

[JohnWxy]

11. you realize of course that recharging a plug-in hybrid or a battery powered

car off the grid is just substituting one fossil fuel for another. UNtil wind power becomes a significant part of the total electrical power supply.

MOst likely plug-ins will be lucky to produce enough power just to meet the owners transportation demands.

[IDemo]

12. The energy efficiency of electric vehicles far exceeds internal combustion

The "equivalent miles per gallon" (or kilometers per megajoule, or any other units of distance/energy) figures for electric vehicles far surpass internal combustion powered ones, meaning less demand for fossil fuels and greatly reduced CO2 outputs. This is true even with power produced from natural gas or coal.

Of course, the greenhouse gas benefits are much higher in areas with nuclear, hydro and alternative energy sources.

[diane in sf]

13. Even when you use the worst power sources, like coal, electric cars have a smaller

environmental impact. From:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080404.html

Are electric cars really more energy efficient? Do "green" vehicles have a worse impact on the environment than a Hummer?

04-Apr-2008
...

"How much energy is lost getting electricity from the power plant to your PHEV or BEV? Plenty. In the U.S. right now, about 70 percent of the energy used to make electricity — more than four million gigawatt-hours — comes from fossil fuels. About 70 percent of that amount is wasted generating the power and transmitting it to your door. Additional energy is lost when charging batteries and running electric motors. Overall, electric cars use fossil fuel at 20 to 25 percent efficiency, but dismal as that sounds, it beats an internal-combustion car, which typically operates at about 15 percent efficiency. An HEV uses around 0.48-0.74 kilowatt-hours per mile, while PHEVs in electric mode and BEVs use 0.18-0.46 kWh per mile. By contrast, a conventional car getting 25 MPG uses 1.35 kWh/mile. To put the issue in more familiar terms, a PHEV or BEV offers fuel economy equivalent to as much as 188 miles per gallon.

Now let’s talk pollution. A huge advantage of PHEV and BEV cars is that their energy can come from renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, or solar. Even if the energy source is fossil fuel, installing state-of-the-art emission controls on a few big power plants is way easier than installing ’em on hundreds of millions of motor vehicles. What’s more, since many electric plants use natural gas, CO2 emissions from power generation are a modest 1.27 pounds of CO2 per kWh — 1.9 pounds per productive kWh once we account for losses during battery charging and so on. Compare that to gasoline, which produces the equivalent of 3.9 pounds of CO2 per productive kWh."


So imagine your car powered by renewable sources at your home and/or from your power company, the picture looks even better.

[IDemo]

15. Also, there are other major benefits to be had from V2G:

http://www.udel.edu/V2G/docs/V2G-PUF-LetendKemp2002.pdf

a recent study we conducted for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, shows all 16 Public Utilities Fortnightly • February 15, 2002 three types of EDVs (battery, hybrid, and fuel cell) have potential roles to play as utility resources, and that ancillary services * are the most lucrative use for vehicle power.

Ancillary services are those services necessary to support the transmission of electric power from seller to purchaser. These services range from actions taken to effect the transaction (such as scheduling and dispatching services) to services that are necessary to maintain the integrity of the transmission system (such as load following, reactive power support, and system protection services). Ancillary services are also needed to offset effects associated with undertaking a transaction (such as loss compensation and energy imbalance service).