General Motors and Ford have joined a pilot project to use electric vehicles as an alternative energy source to the grid, helping to cut pollution from fossil fuels.
Organized by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the project will connect electric vehicles, along with smart thermostats, home appliances and home solar installations and energy storage arrays, to address the highest demand for electricity. Electric vehicles will act as components of a “virtual power plant”, discharging electricity back to the grid as demand increases.
This will reduce emissions from power generation by reducing reliance on “peak” plants, which are used by utilities to increase power output when demand is high. RMI said in a report on virtual power plants.
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With more electric vehicles capable of two-way charging and more networked smart devices hitting the market, RMI predicts that 17.3 gigawatts of generating capacity will be available from manufacturers. virtual machines by 2030. That would allow them to reduce peak US electricity demand by 60 gigawatts that year and up to 200 gigawatts by 2050, RMI estimates.
In terms of emissions reductions, virtual power plants could avoid 44 million to 59 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, according to RMI. The ability to reduce emissions as well as avoid stress on the grid has prompted the launch of other virtual power plant projects.
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Last summer, Tesla and California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) launched a pilot program. use Powerwall battery pack together as a virtual power plant. At that time, there were more than 1,500 customers participating.
This fits right in with the pilot programs the utility is also running with GM and Ford — looking at how vehicles can help support the grid. through two-way charging. Tesla cars themselves don’t offer that functionality yet.
Considering the growing interest in the flexibility offered by two-way charging—the Ford F-150 Lightningfor example, with the ability to back up electricity at home, and Leaf Nissan with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) connectivity—electric vehicles themselves will play an increasingly important role.
