Photo voltaic + storage supplier Sunrun and Maryland utility BGE are working the primary residential vehicle-to-grid (V2G) distributed energy plant within the US, and it’s powered by Ford F-150 Lightning vans.
The pilot began in July and runs via September, permitting clients to ship saved vitality from their vans’ batteries to the grid throughout peak night demand. Three clients in Maryland are at the moment enrolled, utilizing Ford and Sunrun’s Dwelling Integration System to attach their automobiles. Sunrun runs the pilot, compensating drivers as much as $1,000 for the season primarily based on how a lot vitality they share.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell mentioned the V2G energy plant challenge “demonstrates the crucial position that car batteries can play in powering the nation’s grid” and highlighted that it helps grid reliability and supplies revenue alternatives for EV house owners.
The electrical vans dispatch vitality to the grid between 5 and 9 pm on weekdays. BGE’s Divesh Gupta mentioned the vans “make our vitality system extra dependable, extra environment friendly, and even assist decrease electrical energy prices for patrons.”
Ford can be backing the hassle. Invoice Crider, senior director of world charging and vitality companies at Ford, known as it a “win-win” for patrons, utilities, and society, noting that EVs can energy houses and ship electrical energy again to the grid when wanted most.
Baltimore resident Morgan Grove, who’s collaborating within the pilot, mentioned he purchased his Ford Lightning partly to supply backup energy at residence. “Now, I also can earn cash by sending vitality on to the grid,” he mentioned.
Sunrun is Ford’s most popular installer for its Dwelling Backup Energy system, which incorporates the Ford Cost Station Professional and the Dwelling Integration System, the primary commercially obtainable bidirectional system within the US.
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