Will the Electric Grid Fuel our Vehicles?

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

One of the most intriguing aspects of the arrival of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles in large numbers is their potential for bringing about a radical change in the relationship of the transportation and utility sectors of the economy.

That was a key theme at a conference on the future of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles, sponsored by the University of Vermont (UVM) Transportation Research Center this past December 11th. See also my previous post, Plug-In Your Car and Save Dollars (and the Environment).

Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) have the potential to dramatically shift the landscape in which transportation and utility companies operate. As vehicles "fueled" from electricity start to increase in number, utility companies will play a much more important role in the world of transportation.

Nancy Gioia, Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs at Ford Motor Company, who also spoke at the UVM Conference, indicated that there's plenty of off-peak electric capacity available for PHEV growth -- in part because the 6 to 8 hours needed for recharging the battery would most often be done overnight, when electric demand is lowest.

Vermont researcher Steve Letendre, a professor at Green Mountain College, has modeled the impacts on Vermont's electric system of PHEVs. Letendre found that the current electric grid could support over 100,000 electric vehicles without exceeding current peak demand. Again, this is possible because the bulk of recharging would be done overnight. (2003 data reported 516,000 Vermont motor vehicles, 271,000 of which were automobiles). But using "smart grid technology, " which allows variable pricing to help even out demand, Vermont could support an inventory of 200,000 PHEVs, again without increasing current levels of peak electric demand. This would seem more than adequate to meet even quite rapid expansion in the PHEV market.

The electric utilities are surely smiling at this, as meeting increased night-time electric demand could be quite profitable, especially if it can be met (as seems likely to be the case) with little need for building more power plants. Presumably, this could even lead to one of those "win-win" situations, where rates are also reduced for consumers while electirc utilities operate at much higher levels of efficiency.

Plug-in vehicles will also provide a bonus to homeowners. As Bruce Bentley, a senior planner with Central Vermont Public Service, Vermont's largest utility, pointed out during the Conference, "the vehicle's battery can be used to back up your house in case of a power outage." For planners and local officials dealing with emergency preparedness, this will also be quite attractive.

But beyond this "vehicle to home" capability, PHEVs will also allow, as Bentley noted, for the development of "vehicle to grid" (V2G) networks. Just as computers can be networked to help each other out, plugged-in cars could be used to provide occasional ancillary power to the electric grid. In other words, part of the electric charge in the battery of a parked vehicle could be drawn on by the grid, and then replenished. Whether motorists will be reimbursed for this use of their cars' batteries remains to be seen. But there are just a few steps needed before we get to that question