Honda joins vehicle-to-grid project at UD

Willett Kempton charging up a Honda Accord hybrid.

Honda has joined the vehicle-to-grid research program at the University of Delaware.

The V2G venture went into operation early this year and is now generating electrical generating revenue through the PJM regional electric grid. According to UD, one vehicle feeding power into the grid can power the equivalent of ten homes.

The Honda being tested is a hybrid model of its popular Accord. The Honda joins a fleet of BMW Mini all-electric automobiles. More Minis and commercial vans are expected to be added to the UD fleet, according to published reports.

The use of hybrids, which use a small engine in addition to an electric motor, could sharply increase the number of vehicles that could feed power into the grid.

Supporting the effort is NRG Energy Inc., an electric power producer.

“The participation of global automakers like Honda will help demonstrate and refine the technology,” said Willett Kempton, professor in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and research director of the University’s Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration. “The University of Delaware has been developing the technology so that vehicle batteries can be used not only for mobility but also for grid services. It is a big step toward a future with widespread availability of the technology to have Honda join our demonstration with their V2G-capable car.”

In a recent presentation at the Delaware Technology Forum, Kempton said each vehicle in the demonstration is getting about $150 a month for moving electricity into the grid.

“This technology has the potential to support both a cleaner and more efficient power grid and a more positive ownership experience for EV customers,” said Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office of American Honda Motor Co. Inc. “With V2G technology, a network of PEVs (plug-in electric vehicles) becomes essentially a distributed energy storage system. It makes for an even stronger value equation for plug-in vehicles, with benefits for both the community and the vehicle user.”

The V2G system is able to monitor the status of the grid to determine whether the grid requires additional power sources that can respond rapidly, or the grid requires power demands that can absorb transitional power supply.

Such a system has the potential to reduce or eliminate the fluctuation of the grid, which can occur more frequently when renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, move into the grid.

“As the U.S. adds more intermittent resources to the grid, finding a lower cost energy storage technology that also benefits electric vehicle drivers is a great opportunity,” said Denise Wilson, NRG executive vice president and president, New Businesses. “We see this demonstration by Honda as an important step in the development of vehicle-to-grid technology.”

Researchers are also looking at using large vehicle fleets of organizations, like the U.S. Postal Service and Defense Department as a way to feed power into the grid.

Such vehicles are often parked at night when solar power is not available. At the same time, there are concerns that plugged in vehicles being charged might spur electric demand.

The demonstration is conducted in the area served by PJM Interconnection, which controls electricity supply in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Kempton’s team is also looking for ways to make electric vehicles more usable on longer trips through the use of higher-voltage charging stations that would allow a vehicle to be charged during lunch.

Source: Delaware Business Daily

Nissan To Triple Quick-Charging Stations For Electric Cars Over 18 Months

Nissan announced today that it would provide 40 quick-charging stations to NRG, which will use them to expand its eVgo electric-car charging network into the Washington, D.C., region.

Working with its dealers, local authorities, and charging-station partners. Nissan hopes to triple the number of quick-charging stations available in the U.S.

There are now about 160 quick-charge stations, mostly on the West Coast and in Texas; Nissan hopes to add another 500 new stations over the next 18 months.

The company envisions "a quick-charging network that links communities and neighborhoods where people live, work, shop and socialize,” according to Nissan’s director of electric vehicle marketing and sales strategy, Brendan Jones.

“Having a robust charging infrastructure helps build range confidence," Jones said, "which boosts interest in and use of electric vehicles."

The quick-charging stations can recharge a depleted Leaf battery pack to 80 percent of capacity in just half an hour, adding more than 50 miles of range under most circumstances.

Nissan is targeting three areas for the fast-charging stations: its own dealerships, workplace campuses where employees can park, and municipalities located between pairs of areas with large numbers of electric-car drivers.

The company notes that while most electric-car charging today takes place at home, workplace charging is expanding quickly. More than 1,500 companies offer it today, Jones said.

Nissan and NRG made the announcement at a press conference held at today's Washington, D.C., Auto Show.

The eVgo expansion is part of a renewed push by Nissan and eVgo to expand the availability of quick-charging stations that use the CHAdeMO standard.

That quick-charging standard can be used with a majority of the 20,000 or so Nissan Leafs sold in the U.S. (and also many of the 700 or so Mitsubishi i-MiEVs as well).

But a different standard, dubbed CCS (and also known as "SAE Combo"), will be used by U.S. and German makers in years to come. So far, no cars on sale use that standard, and no public CCS charging stations have been installed.

2011 Nissan Leaf at quick-charging station

The eVgo Freedom Stations, as they're known, will have a Nissan quick-charge station and also a Level 2 240-Volt charging outlet, which can be used by any modern electric car.

Quick-charging stations are now available in eVgo networks in Houston and in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The company says it plans to expand to the San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Joaquin Valley areas. 

That expansion is largely funded by NRG as part of the settlement of a longstanding lawsuit over excess utility fees charged to California ratepayers a decade ago.

Consumer advocates criticized the settlement as offering little to the utility customers who paid the overcharges and having been negotiated entirely behind closed doors. That position pitted them against electric-car advocates.

Nevertheless, the California Public Utilities Commission approved that settlement essentially as first proposed, meaning NRG could invest in infrastructure that will make it money rather than reimburse the ratepayers.

Source: Green Car Reports

NRG says $102 million EV station plan will create $185 million in spending

PRESS RELEASE

The planned $102.5 million investment by NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) to build electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in California will create more than 1,500 jobs in the Los Angeles Basin, San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and San Diego County regions, according to a study by Solution Mountain commissioned by NRG.

The study found that NRG's initial $102.5 million investment will create a gross output of more than $185 million when the employment and procurement of goods and services are factored together, equating to an additional $83.3 million in indirect economic activity by 2016.
Click here to download a PDF of the full report.

"We are excited to be both helping to build out the California EV infrastructure, which will help give range confidence to EV drivers, while also contributing to the California economy through job creation and infrastructure spending," said Terry O'Day, NRG Director of California Business Development. "Our commitment to California through this investment will directly benefit consumers, as well as other businesses that will be able to grow due to a more robust EV infrastructure and the greater EV adoption it will help create."

The more than 1,500 jobs created by build-out of the EV Freedom Station and make ready sites will be spread across numerous sectors, including charger station technology, station construction, and specialized design, advertising and marketing services.

NRG will build a minimum of 200 Freedom Station sites as part of the project, installations that include DC chargers that can deliver 50 miles of charge in as little as 15 minutes. The Company will also build a minimum of 10,000 "make-readies" - parking spaces retrofitted to with the wiring necessary to host future EV charging at locations such as multifamily buildings, workplaces and universities, hospitals and other civic sties.

"This study helps show additional benefits of this infrastructure to California," said O'Day. "Pending Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval of the agreement, we will be able to release more project details, including the locations of the first Freedom Station sites and make ready installations."

Solution Mountain used the industry-accepted IMPLAN model to evaluate the economic and job-creation benefits of investment. The full report can be found at here.

About Solution Mountain, Inc
Since 2003, the principals of Solution Mountain, Inc. have prepared hundreds of economic impact reports for state agencies, cities, counties, economic development districts and private corporations. Each report is based on IMPLAN data sets specific to the project's location and unique industry sectors. Solution Mountain, Inc. is a technology partner for the California Association of Local Economic Development (CALED). Robert Gilmore, CEO of Solution Mountain is the recipient of the Ford Foundation's Award for Innovations in American Government and the Council of State Government's Award for Innovation.

About NRG
NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy. A Fortune 500 company, NRG is a pioneer in developing cleaner and smarter energy choices for our customers: whether as one of the largest solar power developers in the country, or by building the first privately funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure or by giving customers the latest smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. Our diverse power generating facilities can support more than 20 million homes and our retail electricity providers - Reliant, Green Mountain Energy Company and Energy Plus - serve more than two million customers. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.