Parked electric vehicles could store power for grid

Date: 5/7/2012

The batteries in electric vehicles could be used to store intermittent wind and solar power at off-peak times, before being fed back into the grid.

That is the finding of a new report, which has been published by the (OECD) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's International Transport Forum.

The report said: "Vehicles are parked on average 95 per cent of the time, providing ample opportunity for the batteries to be used in this way."

When there is particular demand for electricity then it can be fed back into a super grid which will need to be created to meet the demand for powering electric vehicles in the future.

The advantages of such an approach would prevent the network from overloading during off-peak times and would allow the owners of electric vehicles to sell the energy to the grid.

Electric vehicles are being seen as the future of sustainable transport and the government is particularly pinning its hopes on using it as a way to decarbonise transportation.

In order for this to be effective and not throw up other issues, much thought needs to go into the logistics surrounding producing clean electricity.

Rolling out a smart grid across the nation seems to represent the best way to manage electricity in relation to demand without the need to build more power stations.

It is thought that if the owners of electric vehicles are paid for the energy they store and then return to the grid, this will act as an incentive to purchasing this type of car.

Further to this the lifetime cost of the vehicle will be brought down as some of the initial outlay will be recouped through this method.

Electric vehicles already offer good value for money, as despite being more expensive to buy than those with internal combustion engines, they are cheaper to run.

The added benefit would then be that if there were a power cut the electric vehicle had a supply of backup power.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News