Can electric cars save the grid? CA might require EVs to have V2G by 2027
A bill has been introduced in California which would require all EVs to have bidirectional charging capability starting in model year 2027.
The bill is numbered SB 233, introduced in the California Senate by Senator Nancy Skinner, who represents the Oakland area, just north of Tesla’s factory in Fremont; it has a lot of organizations supporting it.
It would require all new electric vehicles to be “bidirectional capable” by model year 2027.
The bill doesn’t specifically define “bidirectional-capable” and directs the California Energy Commission to convene a work group and produce a report on the bidirectional capabilities of various vehicles. This would likely include vehicle-to-grid capability, which means that the car’s battery can feed energy into the electrical grid (or a microgrid), much the same way that a home solar system does when it produces more than a home can consume.
There are other types of bidirectional usage available for EVs, notably vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-home. V2L is the most limited type and typically has lower peak draw capability – for example, the 1.8kW capability on the Kia Niro EV. V2H allows homeowners to power their home with a car’s battery, much like a Tesla Powerwall might work or like Ford’s “Intelligent Backup Power” system.
Another umbrella term for all of this is “vehicle-to-everything,” or V2X.
The bill is meant to help California’s grid tackle challenges with peak loads. As climate change makes temperatures hotter, California’s grid is often overtaxed on the hottest summer days, which are becoming more numerous. Even worse, natural gas peaker plants are the highest-polluting form of electricity California consumes, and these need to be used at peak times in order to deal with high demand.
Electric cars can be a solution to this problem, since they could function as a distributed backup system for the grid. With incentives to charge overnight (utilities give cheaper rates for night charging) and additional incentives to discharge a battery when demand is high, EV owners could help the grid, the air, and also potentially their pocketbooks by buying electricity when it is cheap and putting it back onto the grid when it’s expensive.
California has already moved to incentivize grid-connected storage with its recent changes to its solar net metering program. In a change that was controversial for many rooftop solar advocates, the new 3.0 net metering provision gave higher incentives to stationary battery storage and fewer incentives to normal nonbattery rooftop solar installations.
But there aren’t a lot of V2G-capable cars out there. Currently, only one EV on the market is fully V2G capable and has an available charger to unlock that capability for fleets. That car is also the oldest EV on the market – the Nissan Leaf, which was introduced in 2011 and has been equipped with bidirectional charging capability since 2013. But it only finally got its charger last September, several years after introduction and four years after Nissan partnered with Fermata Energy to deliver this charger.
Other vehicles have V2L or V2H capabilities (or have been promised to eventually have V2G capabilities), but only one is fully V2G capable in the US at the moment.
The bill has already been through two committees (Transportation and Energy, Utilities and Communications), during which it has been watered down significantly. Earlier versions of the bill would have also applied to all electric vehicle supply equipment (chargers), had specific incentives for bidirectional-capable EVs, and may have required these vehicles to use interoperable standards, but these aspects have all been removed as the bill has been amended.
Next, it has to go through the Appropriations committee, then pass through the state Senate and Assembly, and get signed by the governor – so there’s a lot more to go, with the potential that anything could be changed by more amendments.
Then many specifics of implementation would be left up to the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, and California Public Utilities Commission, and the work group convened to study this issue. This includes potentially exempting certain vehicles from the requirements if they are found not to have a “likely beneficial bidirectional-capable use case.”
Electrek’s Take
V2G hasn’t really taken off with consumers, not solely because there aren’t many vehicles available that allow it but also because it’s not all that easy to use. You can’t just plug your car into an outlet and use it – you need to have a grid interconnect, a system which manages the charging and discharging of your vehicle, and so on.
So far, V2G has been more of a curiosity or potentially something for fleets which have large amounts of dispatchable power, but not really something that consumers can take advantage of.
A system like Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant, which connects Powerwall owners together into a large, automatically-dispatchable reserve of power for the grid (all while making those Powerwall owners money), would make it easier for consumers to use their cars in this way.
And having the force of law behind it, requiring all vehicles to be capable of this, could just be the kick-start needed to make these widespread. V2G definitely benefits from a network effect, where it becomes more useful the more people participate.
There’s no real point to a single person discharging their car into the grid, but when millions of cars are involved, you could work to flatten out the famous “duck curve,” which describes the imbalance between electricity supply and demand. We hear a lot about “intermittency” as the problem with wind and solar, and grid storage as the solution to that, so being able to immediately switch on gigawatt-hours worth of installed storage capacity would certainly help to solve that problem.
And that could be worth a tremendous amount of money to the grid. Not only does it eliminate peaker plant usage, which is costly both economically and environmentally, but it also saves money on grid storage installation and helps to avoid costly and even deadly widespread power outages. These benefits could be thought to balance out any cost of additional incentives for V2G-capable cars. But many of those benefits are had simply by charging the car at the right time, which helps to balance out peaks and troughs on its own.
The question of cost is important. This could increase the cost of EVs, and certainly of electrical charger installations. Will the incentive be enough to make up for this increased cost for consumers? Will enough people install grid interconnections to make this useful? And how can they even do so, when there’s a massive backlog of people waiting for grid interconnections to be installed?
And with 2027 coming so soon, do automakers have time to implement this, given that Nissan’s system took more than a decade to get a V2G-capable charger commercially available in the US? Tesla’s VP of Powertrain and Energy, Drew Baglino, recently said it could have bidirectional charging in two years, and immediately afterward, CEO Elon Musk stepped in to say that he thought nobody would want to use bidirectional charging.
This brings up a point: It still remains to be seen if car owners would accept having their car’s charge controlled by an algorithm. People are already obsessed with buying cars that have much more range than they need, so coming back to a car and finding out it’s got 100 fewer miles than you left it at might rattle some owners. This is solvable by setting minimum thresholds in an app, but that could also limit the overall usefulness of the system to the grid.
While this is a great idea that could solve many problems for California and elsewhere, we could see it being difficult to implement unless the system is made easy to use, easy to install, and people are properly incentivized to use it in a manner that is understandable to a public that doesn’t know the difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt-hour. State regulators will have their work cut out for them to design these regulations by the end of 2024 as the bill describes, but if they get it right, this could finally give us the V2G dream we’ve been thinking of for so long.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
EcoFlow members can save up to 65% on power stations while supporting disaster relief during the 2025 Member’s Festival
Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla is losing another top talent: its long-time head of software, David Lau, has reportedly told co-workers that he is exiting the automaker.
Tesla changed how the entire auto industry looks at software.
Before Tesla, it was an afterthought; user interfaces were rudimentary, and you had to go to a dealership to get a software update on your systems.
When Tesla launched the Model S in 2012, it all changed. Your car would get better through software updates like your phone, the large center display was responsive with a UI that actually made sense and was closer to an iPad experience than a car.
Tesla also integrated its software into its retail experience, service, and manufacturing.
David Lau deserves a lot of the credit for that.
He joined Tesla in 2012 as a senior manager of firmware engineering and quickly rose through the ranks. By 2014, he was promoted to director of firmware engineering and system integration, and in 2017, he became Vice President of software.
Lau listed the responsibilities of his team on his LinkedIn:
- Vehicle Software:
- Firmware for the powertrain, traction/stability control, HV electronics, battery management, and body control systems
- UI software and underlying Embedded Linux platforms
- Navigation and routing
- iOS and Android Mobile apps
- Distributed Systems:
- Server-side software and infrastructure that provides telemetry, diagnostics, over-the-air updates, and configuration/lifecycle management
- Data engineering and analytics platforms that power technical and business insights for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the company
- Diagnostic tools and fleet management, Manufacturing and Automation:
- Automation controls (PLC, robot)
- Server-side manufacturing execution systems that power all of Tesla’s production operations
- Product Security and Red Team for software, services, and systems across Tesla
Bloomberg reported today that Lau told his team he is leaving Tesla. The report didn’t include reasons for his stepping down.
Electrek’s Take
Twelve years at any company is a great run. At Tesla, it’s heroic. Congrats, David, on a great run. You undoubtedly had a significant impact on Tesla and software advancements in the broader auto industry.
He is another significant loss for Tesla, which has been losing a lot of top talent following a big wave of layoffs around this time last year.
I wonder who will take over. Michael Rizkalla, senior director of software engineering and vehicle firmware, is one of the most senior software engineers after Lau. He has been at Tesla for 7 years, and Tesla likes to promote within rather than hire outsiders.
There are also a lot of senior software execs working on AI at Tesla. Musk has been favoring them lately and he could fold Lau’s responsibilities under them.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year 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
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway