New V2X program will study how bidirectional EV charging can lower utility costs
Bidirectional charging allows EV owners to use energy from their car batteries to power their homes or send the energy back to the grid. The innovative technology can save EV drivers money on utility costs while helping lower electricity demand during peak periods.
How bidirectional EV charging can bring down utility costs
EV drivers are quickly learning their cars are good for more than just zero-emission driving. Electric vehicles utilize powerful, compact batteries that can charge and discharge quickly and efficiently.
The ability to send energy back and forth from the vehicle to the grid (V2G) and vice versa is a significant benefit of owning an EV. If deployed properly, it can save utility customers money while protecting the US’s aging grid infrastructure.
Companies like PG&E and Duke Energy are launching programs aimed at studying the best ways to utilize this technology.
Duke Energy partnered with Ford F-150 Lightning owners in August to use the EV pickup’s powerful battery to supply energy during peak hours, lowering grid intensity and savings across the network.
PG&E is initiating a program of its own to test bidirectional EV charging for homes, for businesses, and with local microgrids.
PG&E launches V2X pilot to test EVs as mobile batteries
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is rolling out three new Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) pilot programs to determine the best practices to maximize bidirectional EV charging benefits for consumers and the grid.
In a press release Tuesday, PG&E invited customers to participate in a pre-enrollment for its new V2X program.
The plan involves allowing EV drivers to utilize their vehicle’s battery, leveraging it to earn money and offset energy use when demand is the highest. Participation involves:
- Powering your property temporarily when there’s an outage.
- Charging your vehicle during times with less demand while using the EVs power when energy during peak hours (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.).
- Earning additional revenue incentives from sending energy back to the grid during high-demand periods.
Users will earn an upfront payment and performance-based incentives for participating in the V2X program. Enrollment in PG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Program can provide additional savings, which can help offset the costs of buying and installing a bidirectional EV charger.
The incentives include:
V2X Residential
- Up to $2,500 upfront ($3,000 for customers in disadvantaged communities).
- Up to $2,175 additional for providing stored energy to the grid in times of high demand through auto-enrollment in the ELRP demand response program.
V2X Commercial
- Up to $2,500 upfront ($3,000 for customers in disadvantaged communities) for installing a three-phase bidirectional charger less than 50 kW.
- Up to $3,625 additional for providing stored energy to the grid in times of high demand through auto-enrollment in the ELRP demand response program.
- Up to $4,500 upfront ($5,000 for customers in disadvantaged communities) for installing a three-phase bidirectional charger greater than or equal to 50 kW.
- Up to $3,625 additional for providing stored energy to the grid in times of high demand through auto-enrollment in the ELRP demand response program.
V2X Microgrids
- Up to $3,750 for providing stored energy to the grid in times of high demand through auto-enrollment in the ELRP demand response program.
- Can stack incentives with V2X Residential or Commercial
Currently, the only EV to qualify is the Ford F-150 Lightning. However, EVs based on the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform, including the Hyundai IONIQ5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60, are expected to be eligible between 2023 to 2024, followed by VW ID.4 (2023-2024), Porsche Taycan (2024), GM Silverado (2024), Volvo EX90 (2024-2025), and Polestar 3 (2025).
Electrek’s Take
Bidirectional charging can play a critical role in transitioning to a green energy economy. The rising frequency of extreme weather events is testing the aging US grid infrastructure, simultaneously increasing energy demand while limiting the ability to generate it.
One way to solve this is by implementing widespread renewable energy like wind and solar, but this will take time to deploy.
In the meantime, electric vehicles can play an integral role. EVs with bidirectional charging capabilities can help reduce stress on the grid during peak demand hours while saving on utility costs.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Paris’ bike-share system, Vélib has long been considered one of the shining success stories of urban micromobility. With a massive fleet of over 20,000 pedal and electric-assist bicycles around Paris, the service has helped millions of residents and tourists get around the City of Light without needing a car or scooter. But lately, a growing problem is threatening to knock the wheels off this urban mobility marvel: theft and joyriding.
According to city officials and the service operator, more than 600 Vélib bikes are now going missing every single week. That’s over 30 bikes a day simply vanishing from the system – some stolen outright, others taken on “joy rides” and never returned.
“At the moment we’re missing 3,000 bikes,” explained Sylvain Raifaud, head of the Agemob company that currently operates the Velib system. That’s nearly 15% of over 20,000 Vélib bikes across Paris.
The sticky-fingered culprits aren’t necessarily professional thieves or organized crime rings. Instead, they’re often regular users who treat the shared bikes like disposable toys.
The city estimates that many people have figured out how to pry the bikes out of the system’s parking docks, unlocking one for a casual cruise and then ditching it somewhere far from a docking station.
Once pried free, the bikes are technically usable for the next 24 hours until their automatic locking feature kicks in. At that point, the bikes are often simply abandoned. Some end up in alleyways. Others get tossed in rivers. A few just disappear completely.
And since the bikes are intended to be parked at their many docking stations around the city, they don’t have GPS chips, further complicating recovery of “liberated” bikes.
The issue started small but has grown into more than an inconvenience – it’s beginning to undermine the entire purpose of the service. With bikes going missing at such a high rate, many Vélib docking stations are left empty, especially during rush hours.
Riders looking for a quick commute or a convenient hop across town are increasingly finding themselves without available bikes, or having to walk long distances to find a functioning one.
That kind of unreliability chips away at user confidence and threatens to drive potential riders back into cars, cabs, or other less sustainable forms of transport at a time when Paris has already made great strides to dramatically reduce car usage in the city.
The losses are financially painful, too. Replacing stolen or vandalized bikes isn’t cheap, and the resources spent on tracking down missing equipment or reinforcing anti-theft measures are stretching thin. Vélib has faced theft and vandalism issues before, especially during its early years, but this latest surge has officials sounding the alarm with renewed urgency.
Officials acknowledge that there’s no easy fix. Paris, like many cities with bike-share systems, walks a fine line between accessibility and accountability. Part of what makes Vélib so successful is its ease of use and widespread availability. But those same features make it vulnerable to misuse – especially when enforcement is limited and the consequences for abuse are minimal.
The timing of the problem is especially unfortunate. In recent years, Paris has seen impressive results in reducing car traffic, expanding bike lanes, and promoting cycling as a key part of its sustainable transport strategy. Vélib is a cornerstone of that plan. But if the system becomes too unreliable, it risks losing the very people it was designed to serve.
Meanwhile, as Parisians increasingly find themselves staring at empty docks, the challenge for the city and Vélib will be to restore confidence in the system without making it harder to use. That means striking the right balance between freedom and responsibility, between open access and protection against abuse.
In a city where cycling is supposed to be the future of mobility, losing thousands of bikes to joyriders and sticky fingers isn’t just frustrating; it’s unsustainable.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike