Electric Driveways Plug In Hybrids to Smart Grid
R. Colin Johnson | Date: 10-29-09 | Comments: 2
- Australia is aiming to become the first country to integrate electric cars into a nationwide smart grid.
Down under electric vehicles are harnessing plug-in hybrids to not only
reduce greenhouse emissions and lower transportation costs, but also to
make smarter use of energy from the grid by charging at night during
periods of low demand, then supplying any excess charge back to the
grid during periods of high demand during the day.
Australia is aiming to become the first country to integrate electric
cars into a nationwide smart grid. Its Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle
(PHEV) trial taking place over the next three months is part of a
National Research Flagship Program called Energy Transformed. Run by
Australia's national science agency--the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)--the Plug-In Hybrid Electric
Vehicle trial precedes potential stimulus subsidies aimed at
encouraging consumers to adopt electric vehicles.
For the trial, standard Toyota Prius hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
were converted into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by adding
a grid-ready battery charger and replacing the existing battery pack
with one five times larger--a 30 amp-hour (Ah) nickel-metal-hydride
(NiMH) battery capable of holding a 6-kilowatt (kw) charge. The larger
battery and charger enable the cars to run all day without using their
gasoline engines, even at highway speeds, then be recharged at night by
plugging directly into the electricity grid.
The three-month trial period will use drivers who are employees of
the Victorian energy distributor SP AusNet. SP AusNet will put the
converted Prius' through their paces, using them as all-electric cars
for both work and leisure. All the while on-board sensors will be
keeping track of speed, acceleration, mileage, emissions and other data
useful in evaluating the pros and cons of electric vehicles in general,
and the plug-in hybrid approach in particular.
Two other cooperating programs under the Energy Transformed flagship
will dovetail with the Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle program,
enabling electric cars to become mobile energy storage devices that
smooth out grid demand. Called the Electric Driveway program and the
Zero Emission Home (ZEH) program, the idea is to attach the Plug-In
Hybrid Electric Vehicle to the grid in the Electric Driveway with a
smart meter that charges it at night when demand is low. Any excess
energy not used for driving can then be supplied back to the Zero
Emission Home during periods of peak demand, thereby making the grid
more stable despite the fact that it will be drawn upon at night to
charge all those electric-vehicle batteries.
If the trial is successful, Australian legislation will be proposed to
offer national stimulus subsidies to encourage consumers to switch over
to electric vehicles plugged into a smart grid. Together the Plug-In
Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Electric Driveway and Zero-Emission Home
programs could lower Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions by as
much as 14 percent.
