Electric cars are to act as a big battery in an experiment aimed at relieving some of the pressure on the UK's struggling energy infrastructure. Through the scheme, led by National Grid and Octopus Energy, vehicles that are being charged on driveways will be plugged into a system that will release electricity as and when required.
Claire Miller, director of technology and innovation at Octopus, said: "This will demonstrate how you can send a signal from the National Grid control room to those vehicles and contribute to balancing the grid at times when it needs a bit more electricity, for instance at tea time when there is a lot of demand.
"Conversely, on a windy night when our wind turbines are generating electricity, we might also need a place to put energy."
Julian Leslie, chief engineer at the network operator National Grid ESO, described the scheme as part of a wider effort to build "a heavily renewables-driven" future.
Suggesting this is only the beginning, he added: "If we can get 10 million vehicles doing vehicle-to-grid, then fantastic."
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Ms Miller told the Telegraph: "What we're doing is the first step on that journey.
"We are showing the energy industry what is possible."
If successful, the trial could be the groundwork for stable power supplies in a post-green-transition period that, though necessary, will bring new challenges.
Shifting from burning fossil fuels to cleaner energy — wind or solar — is more unpredictable.
Starting at some point from April to June, car owners from 135 households will allow the grid to draw power from their cars, and they will be paid for the energy the grid drains off.
Participants are being paid 15p per kilowatt-hour, or 60p per hour, for the electricity they send to the grid.
According to Ms Miller, who says it is all about "doing more with what we have", a typical electric car has an output of about seven kilowatt-hours.
At peak hours, or between 4pm and 7pm, she explained, a typical household would only use around three kilowatt-hours of energy, leaving about four kilowatt-hours of spare capacity.
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That means one million electric cars could provide 4,000 megawatt-hours to the grid at peak times – which is about the equivalent of what 5,000 onshore wind turbines can provide.
The announcement of the trial comes ahead of another National Grid pilot scheme that from Friday will see 1.4 million households be paid if they reduce their usual electricity consumption at certain two-hour periods during the day.
Isabelle Haigh, head of National Control at ESO, said: "System flexibility is vital to help manage and reduce peak electricity demand and keep Britain’s electricity flowing securely.
"This trial will provide valuable insight into how suppliers may be able to utilise domestic flexibility to help reduce stress on the system during high demand, lower balancing costs and deliver consumer benefits."
Both initiatives are the result of the UK's urge to limit the amount of new capacity needed as demand for electricity increases – and that increase is only poised to accelerate as people swap their petrol and diesel cars for electric alternatives in the coming decades.
The same trend is expected as households ditch their gas-fired boilers for electric heat pumps or hydrogen made from renewable electricity.
The National Grid has been approached for comment.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvMTU2NDI2NS9lbGVjdHJpYy1jYXJzLW5hdGlvbmFsLWdyaWQtZW5lcmd5LWNyaXNpcy1PY3RvcHVzLUVuZXJneS10cmlhbC1lbGVjdHJpY2l0eS1wb3dlci11cGRhdGXSAQA?oc=5
2022-02-11 07:01:00Z
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