Electric Transportation, Vehicle To Grid, and Wind Energy

There is so much general ignorance on the basic issues confronting renewable energy and electric transportation that it’s sometimes hard to know how to react to articles like this one on “vehicle to grid,” i.e., the concept that large number of EVs can eventually be used to provide power back to the electrical grid at times of peak load, or at least offer “ancillary services” in the form of wave-form regulation, etc.  The average reader could infer that we’re somehow right around the corner from V2G, and this is most certainly not the case.  In fact, in the four years that I’ve been attending conferences on the subject, I haven’t seen too much substantive movement in this direction; in particular, the technical standards under which all this will (or could) happen are still under discussion.

The good news is that the concept makes a great deal of sense.  I.e., the introduction of significant quantities of battery storage will provide a number of benefits in addition to reducing/eliminating our dependence on gasoline and diesel, with their litany of negative environmental and political consequences.  In addition to V2G, electric transportation will enable a large increase in the amount of wind energy we are able to generate and use productively, as the wind blows hardest at night, during off-peak periods.