One of the great chicken-or-egg questions of the modern engineering world lies in the relationship between electric cars and renewable energy. Many engineers will tell you that renewable energy must come first, otherwise our clean EVs will be powered by coal-burning generators.
Now, though, there's another way of looking at that question. As the "vehicle-to-grid" (V2G) concept grows in popularity, some experts believe that electric cars need to come first, or at least in tandem with renewables. In a V2G world, they say, electric cars would dump their battery power back onto the grid, serving as an enabler for wind and solar energy.
"It's synergistic," John Gartner, senior researcher for Pike Research, which recently published a study called "Vehicle-to-Grid Technologies," told us. "Deep penetration of electric vehicles would be greater if we had proliferation of renewables. But in the same way, penetration of renewables would be greater with electric vehicles to do some of the load balancing."
A study by Pike Research predicts that 90,000 V2G-enabled vehicles will be on the road by 2017. (Source: Pike Research.)
Although that logic may initially sound tangled, it isn't -- at least for those who believe in the vehicle-to-grid concept. In V2G, electric cars with big lithium batteries would actually serve as a savior of sorts for the grid. The general idea is this: When an EV is idle, it could autonomously send its power back to the utility during a moment of need.
That might not sound particularly useful, until you put renewable energy into the equation. Because renewable energy is an intermittent power source, it needs to be backed up a by a "load balancer," such as coal or nuclear. Proponents of V2G see the electric car battery as the balancing element of the future when wind and sunlight aren't available.
"If even a small percentage of the light-duty fleet is V2G-enabled, it would be enough to handle all that variability," Gartner told us.
There are, of course, some hurdles to making this happen. Some engineers believe the concept poses a risk to consumers, or to electrical linemen working nearby. Others say that repeated two-way cycling would damage batteries, and they want to know who would be responsible if it did. Moreover, every V2G-enabled car would need an onboard two-way inverter-charger and additional components that could cost as much as $500 per car.
First the grid system itself is out dated and must be upgraded. It costs too much to matain and build, will not hold up in bad in iceing, floods, hurricanes, fires, or wars. In fact why does it even exist? Well thats how Mr. Westinghouse designed the first overland distribution out of Niagra Falls to distribut Mr. N. Tessla's multi-phase power. Go see it, it is still working.
Now, jumping to 2012, we are still using cross country distribution (thank God without Edison's and Wall Streets perfered DC method designs) but, really havent moved forward. Why? We have stand-alone generation capability and know how to use it, or do we? Or are we reluctant to explore the true value of new technology fearing the selfish control methods applied by the J. P. Morgan's of the world? I think so and here is why.
We don't have a NEED prerequisit such as on a ship, nor do we understand the alternates available to us. Thoes such as ZERO, COLD, FREE, FUSION or E-Cat technologies. And, why don't we undestand or use such technologies? Technologies that havebeen known and hidden away from the public for at least a century and are here NOW. These eneryg systems are safe, make NO polution, are very buildable, genrate limitless power, are afordable and provide the keys to safe tranmutation of spent fision fuel.
It is my contention that the R&D. Engineering, Scientific and ALL OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES should demand, world wide, patent restructuring and government coperation to make this posible! If this happens we may truly look forward to a renaissance of new discovery and invention.
Frankly it could go either way. I tend to Sawmill Engineer is on the right track. The utility operator gets paid for providing power, including all of the infrastructure. There is a guarnteed profit so that private investors will be encouraged to invest. At present, the utility business is deregulated and no longer integrated. You pay the distribution company, but the electrons may not come from the traditional generation resource. The service is not just the electrons, it is the reliable delivery of same.
This also makes sense given the trend in the utility business to do load balancing through storage rather than generation. EV's are just another storage mechanism in the network.
Also, since the utulity is able to avoid cost with extra generation at times of need with this type of scheme, they are happy to write that check. They were going to anyway.
Jerry, thanks for those details. My square footage is about 5 times yours, so that's the big difference right there. I wish I owned the creek, that would make a great source of free power. We don't need AC here, but we do need heating in the winter. Your description of the veg oil-powered generator sounds intriguing. There are several local groups near me trying to implement that technology with distribution systems. But I have a big problem with the noise a generator makes, out here in the quiet woods. They need to be completely redesigned to address that issue.
When I first started reading this artlcle, I was thinking that it "might" be a possibility for hybrids, such as a case where you have excess capity that was generated by gas-powered driving and so you would sell your "generated" energy to those that might need it. As it stands, it looks like a losing proposition for the run-of-the-mill EV owner. In addition, I wonder what type of stress the additional charge/discharge cycles are going to have on the life of the battery. Even if you are selling the power back to the utility, will the spread be enough to cover your added costs?
Hey, I like the idea of the wind turbine on the car, Tedbeau. You could also attach a solar panel. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the grid. Actually, though, employers could have chargers at work so employees could charge during work hours. Ah, who knows. This may take some time to work out.
Boy did you get that right. This has to be the stupidest thing I have heard of in a while.
Of course that means that the government will give someone millions of dollars to develop a system!
I can just imagine, I get home from work on Thursday, having driven my overpriced EV back and forth to work all week. I decide that since I havn't charged it since Sunday, and I have an impportant meeting first thing Friday morning I better charge the car. I plug in the car, eat dinner and go to bed. The sun sets, and the wind dies down. The grid now needs power so it drains my battery down to 30%. Since I have to get to work early Friday to get ready for this important meeting I leave work 1/2 an hour before sunup. Half way to work I notice that the charge indicator read 1%. The car than dies. I have to call a wrecker and a taxi. I am late for the meeting and get fired!
Don't these idiots realize that probably 75% of the people in the US would be charging their cars at night when solar in unavailable!
These guys should look at getting a sister grant to see if they can add a wind turbine to the car and charge it with wind while it drives! It makes as much sense!
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
23 
