Reuters reports on the University of Delaware researchers who have fashioned an electric car to not only run on just electricity but also to store and generate electricity for utilities.This technology on the prototype car is called vehicle-to-grid or V2G and the professors hope this will also generate future revenue.
To help lay the groundwork for V2G in Delaware, the state passed a 2009 law - the first of its kind in the world -- requiring utilities to compensate electric car owners for power sent back to the grid at the same rate they pay to charge the battery.And Kempton estimates that the value of providing storage and electricity generation to utilities is $4000 per year.
At a current cost of about $75,000 per [Toyota] Scion - including V2G conversion and the basic car -- the vehicles are beyond the reach of most drivers. But [Professor Willett Kempton, who is leading the university's V2G program], argues that costs will fall as production increases. With all costs optimized, a V2G car should eventually sell for $3,000-$5,000 more than an equivalent gasoline model, he said.
Read the full story: Electric cars give power back to grid
Photo from University of Delaware
Super Vehicle to Grid (Super V2G) Cars as Powerful Power Plants!
ReplyDeleteThe Scion was equipped with a 2 way plug and could sell 10 kW of power to power aggregator PJM for the local utility at the rate of $30 per hour. PJM stated the car could earn up to $1,800 per year for its owner.
Second generation V2G automobiles might be able to provide as much as 25 kW using a two way plug. It has been estimated that such vehicles might earn as much as $3,000 per year.
Chava is developing what are expected to become Third generation V2G vehicles. Steven Letendre, a V2G analyst at Green Mountain College has termed our work Super V2G. Future cars and trucks will be able to provide up to 150 kW with a wireless connection to suitably equipped parking spaces. Payments to owners may very well be sufficient to pay for the vehicle.
SPICE™ - Self Powered Internal Combustion Engines, in hybrid cars and trucks can run when parked spinning a generator.
The economics are likely to prove compelling. Until now, car ownership has been an expense. Vehicle to Grid power has been explored in a modest way for hybrids. Plug-in hybrids, equipped with a two way plug, can feed power to the local utility while parked, which is 95% of the time for the average vehicle. According to PJM, utilities currently pay $30 per hour for power from a parked car. Professor Willet Kempton, at the University of Delaware, has estimated the car’s owner could earn up to $4,000 per year.
MagGen powered cars are expected to be capable of generating at least 75 kW and later 100 kW. In the case of luxury cars, trucks and buses 150 kW will prove practical. Technology already exists that, using inductive electronics, can wirelessly couple up to 150 kW to the grid from parked vehicles. A transmitting plate is installed on the underbody of the vehicle. A receiving plate is needed on, or buried under, the parking space surface. No plug connection will be required.
With existing and so far publicized V2G systems, a large plug installed in a hybrid car can allow 240 volts to be accommodated. A 240 volt cable could provide a maximum of 25 kW to the utility. If that 25 kW can annually pay the vehicle owner $4,000, imagine what the income might be with an inductively coupled 75 kW or larger MagGen. If the price per kW is the same as that used in the University of Delaware analysis, we could be considering payments totaling $25,000, or more, per year.
A substantial number of vehicles powered by MagGen, or its water sipping counterpart: ECHO - Energy from Collapsing Hydrogen Orbits, and a SPICE - Self Powered Internal Combustion Engine, in a parking garage will transform the garage into a multi-megawatt power plant.
Doubtless, when millions of cars and trucks are selling power to the grid, the price per kilowatt paid will gradually decline. However, it still seems likely that the cost of many vehicles might be paid for by utilities, as they purchase power whenever needed. The parked cars, trucks and buses, each become decentralized power plants - a rapid, cost-effective alternative to the many tough and costly environmental challenges of constructing new coal burning and nuclear power generation facilities.
Utilities, as well as vehicle manufacturers, have a unique opportunity to lead the nation and the world into a dramatic reduction in the need for oil. The positive economic impact can hardly be exaggerated.
When the development of SPICE and MagGen are put on a 24/7 footing, it will speed the ability to provide Super V2G systems.
See the Chava article at: http://www.aesopinstitute.org to learn more.