http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-ev-chargers-and-energy-storage-can-make-good-grid-partners How EV Chargers and Energy Storage Can Make Good Grid Partners Jeff St. John July 21, 2015
[images http://dqbasmyouzti2.cloudfront.net/assets/content/cache/made/content/images/articles/ChargePoint_GreenCharge_GaragePhoto_XL_310_207.JPG (energy storage up on wall, behind EVSE) http://dqbasmyouzti2.cloudfront.net/assets/content/cache/made/content/images/articles/ChargePoint_GreenCharge_DCmgmt_Chart_XL_580_423.png (energy use chart) video https://youtu.be/KEWzy7kHarM How Electric Cars Could Make or Break the Power Grid Rewired Jul 10, 2015 Electric vehicle sales have grown exponentially in recent years. Today, there are more than two dozen plug-in cars on the market, and dozens more are set to hit showrooms before the end of the decade. ] ChargePoint and Green Charge link batteries and public EV chargers to limit demand charges and make loads more flexible. Plug-in electric vehicles could be a major challenge or a major resource, according to the utilities plotting ways to turn EV charging stations into smart, grid-responsive resources. But the first steps toward making EV charging an asset may come not from fancy vehicle-to-grid (V2G) policies and programs, but from the demand charges that penalize utility customers for spikes in their electricity consumption. EV chargers are one new electric load that can potentially create big new spikes in demand, which is putting pressure on EV charging station hosts to do something about their impact on the grid. And behind-the-meter batteries could be a useful solution to that problem. That's what ChargePoint and Green Charge Networks say, at least. The two startups announced Tuesday that they’re teaming up, with ChargePoint offering its EV charging station network customers a quick solution to demand charges via Green Charge’s energy storage systems. The two have already been running in tandem for months in Redwood City, Calif., where they’ve backed up five EV chargers, including two DC-powered fast chargers, with batteries that have helped reduce the city’s demand charges to the tune of about $7,000 per year, said Green Charge CEO Vic Shao. Below is a screenshot from Green Charge's system, showing how one of its GreenStation units backing a charging station at Redwood City's public library capped what otherwise would have been demand-charge-inducing spikes in grid consumption with the use of injected battery power. Companies like Green Charge, Stem, Coda Energy and the dynamic duo of Tesla and SolarCity have been installing lithium-ion battery systems in buildings for similar demand charge management purposes, with California and New York as key markets. But as EV ownership rises, and more cities and businesses look to install charging gear to support them, plug-in EV parking lots may become the next logical extension of the business model. “We’re looking at many other locations, particularly in California, where demand charges are high,” said Rich Quattrini, ChargePoint’s senior director of business development. “Because we don’t own the stations in most cases, we’re recommending Green Charge Networks to help offset the operational costs wherever demand charges are high.” DC charging stations, which can pump up to 50 kilowatts at a time to fill up an EV’s battery in about 30 minutes, are particularly problematic from a demand-charge perspective, he noted. Whereas a parking lot full of 240-watt Level 2 chargers tends to see enough cars plugging in and unplugging over a day to yield a fairly predictable and steady load, a single DC charger will see an unpredictable number of EVs roll in for quick charge-ups over the course of a day, leading to a far “spikier” profile, he said. Green Charge’s first Department of Energy-backed pilot projects in New York City included several EV charging systems at rental car agencies, which gave the startup a chance to learn how to manage these unpredictable spikes, Shao noted. It’s already backing up NRG Energy’s eVgo charging stations in California, including several schools and 7-Eleven store sites. “EV chargers add volatility and unpredictability to a building,” he said. “These are all conditions that Green Charge loves, because they’re the exact conditions our system was built to tackle.” These are the same kinds of spikes and surges in electricity demand that make utilities concerned about EVs, by the way. At a local level, several EVs plugged in at once could overload local transformers and grid circuits. DC charging stations, which often require upgrades to electric infrastructure, may be a bit more predictable on this front than the lower-level chargers being installed in garages by new EV owners. On a system-wide level, EV charging could cause significant shifts in customer consumption patterns that require changes in utility planning to manage. Utilities in EV-rich states like California are striving to get residential customers to at least inform them when they’ve bought a new EV, and hopefully sign them up for special EV tariffs that encourage charging at off-peak hours to reduce the strain they could end up placing on the grid. At the same time, utilities are looking at EVs as a major source of new electricity sales revenue, as well as a grid management resource. California’s three big investor-owned utilities are seeking regulator permission to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on EV charging infrastructure deployments, with an eye on making sure that the charging gear in question can respond to grid needs. DC chargers may be the primary target for battery backup, but lower-level chargers can also make use of energy storage. Last year, Panasonic partnered with Powertree Services to combine batteries, solar panels and EV chargers at multi-unit residential buildings in San Francisco. People who live in apartments and condos may want EV charging in their garage, but building owners have to pay the electric bills, including the potential jumps in demand charges that could come with the significant new loads they represent. ChargePoint is also doing EV chargers for multi-family buildings, providing a service agreement that combines equipment and installation costs and customer service via its mobile apps for EV drivers. It hasn’t yet tapped Green Charge for any of those projects, but should demand-charge concerns come up in the course of rolling them out, “We might have a solution for it,” Quattrini said. ChargePoint finances EV charging system and installation costs for commercial customers through a partnership with Key Equipment Finance, helping to ease the upfront costs for companies or businesses wanting to support EV drivers. Those leases don’t include covering the cost of electricity, he noted. But Green Charge’s financing partnership with K Road DG does offer no-money-down installation of its GreenStation systems, which it then pays off through a shared savings agreement with customers. Because Green Charge manages both EV chargers and the buildings they’re connected to, the task of injecting battery power to mitigate demand spikes “becomes a little bit more complex,” he said. “That’s where we rely on Green Charge’s expertise to evaluate that, and bring the deal home.” It’s unclear just where batteries could serve a crucial role in enabling EV chargers to fulfill these utility-facing tasks, versus those where more simple charging schedules or emergency shutoff controls would do the trick. “A lot of factors are involved” in assessing which sites are right for battery backup, Quattrini said. “One is the utilization rate of the station, and that’s going to vary over time.” But it’s possible that batteries installed to meet customer demand charge goals could eventually find uses for utility needs. “We believe as EVs gain traction going forward that energy storage is a very necessary component of the infrastructure,” Shao said. “I think that commercial and industrial customers really need to have a solution -- not just chargers, not just energy storage, but a comprehensive solution, to meet all their needs.” Watch GTM's Rewired for an overview of how electric vehicles could provide both challenges and opportunities for utilities. [© greentechmedia.com] http://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-transportation-grid-how-utilities-can-drive-the-future-of-transport/402562/ The Transportation Grid: How utilities can drive the future of transport By Patty Monahan and Dan Adler | July 20, 2015 [image http://d1bb041l1ipbcm.cloudfront.net/user_media/cache/96/b5/96b5771cdf7883835ca3ddc0d7c2647d.jpg (multiple EVSE) ] Editor's Note: The following is a guest post by Patricia Monahan and Dan Adler. Patricia is the director of the transportation program at the Energy Foundation, and was previously a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team lead at the Environmental Protection Agency. Dan is vice president of power strategies at the Energy Foundation and was formerly a managing director at the California Clean Energy Fund and senior staffer at the California Public Utilities Commission. In this guest post, Patty Monahan and Dan Adler lay out a blueprint for utility leadership in electric transportation "The Stone Age came to an end, not because we had a lack of stones, and the oil age will come to an end not because we have a lack of oil." — former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Yamani When it comes to how we fuel our cars and trucks, America is standing at an inflection point. The electrification of our system of personal transport, which for many years was little more than a visionary theory, is now in its initial stages of design and implementation; with the right policies, the bulk of our passenger vehicles could shift from being fueled by oil and gas, to being powered by electricity. If transport electrification is truly a question of “when,” rather than “if,” it poses some profound - and immediate - questions for the electricity sector, and, in particular, electric utilities. Because of the vast infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles (EVs), utilities may in fact hold the keys to accelerating their deployment. And as a side benefit to accelerating EV deployment, utilities could see increased energy demand and revenue growth. An outcome that favors both utilities and consumers is not, however, a given. The way utilities structure EV charging rates, and the strategies they use to integrate “smart” vehicle charging with existing and emergent programs and technologies, will determine the extent to which utilities set up a “win-win-win” situation - for the economy, for consumers, and for their own business. As utilities around the country experiment with EV grid integration, a growing body of evidence is pointing to a set of best practices that ensure EVs have a positive impact on the grid, offer benefits to ratepayers, and address urgent public health and environmental issues. Utilities who choose these approaches may eventually come to be seen as the key players ushering us out of the oil age, and into the age of electrified transport. The Utility of the Future Across the United States, utilities, grid managers, ratepayer advocates and electric vehicle (EV) innovators are experimenting with new policies and incentives for EVs that, when observed in aggregate, are on their way to bringing electric vehicles out of their niche, and into large-scale consumer adoption. While these conversations are still nascent, they fit squarely in the emerging debates about the “utility of the future” taking shape in New York, Minnesota and elsewhere. Some initial findings suggest that tomorrow’s electric utilities will be rewarded for integrating EVs and the related host of new energy technologies and services — technologies and services that are clean, reliable, affordable, and attractive to consumers. As more utilities realize the potential value of EVs to their bottom line, and as more EV manufacturers grasp the importance of the electric grid for vehicle sales, we may see a perfect storm of convergence that will facilitate a sea change away from the internal combustion engine and toward a transportation system that is powered predominantly by electricity. Several important variables will determine which set of actors ultimately get to play the lead roles in accelerating a transition to electric drive. All evidence suggests that utilities are the front runner. But a lot is riding on the path they choose. A growing body of empirical evidence from Energy Foundation partners and others suggests that, with the right policies in place, utilities are uniquely positioned to help oversee the vast network of charging stations, set prices, and structure and manage various EV incentive programs. They’re also in an ideal position to play the role of “referee” for the various technologies that will be deployed in service of electric vehicles - making sure that the full suite of technologies meet rigorous standards for engineering, grid compatibility and interoperability with other systems. The fact is, no single entity or group of companies has more experience managing the development and deployment of large-scale electric infrastructure than electric utilities. With the right policies in place, utilities may well prove to be the lynchpin to developing a nationwide network of charging stations to rival today’s gasoline stations. We’re already witnessing an uptick in related activity - and not just in places like California and Washington state, both of which have aggressive goals for vehicle electrification. Utilities in Alabama, Michigan, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Indiana, Vermont, Florida, and Minnesota are all experimenting with various programs to incentivize electric vehicle deployment. The range of policy experiments is what you might expect in our diverse, federalist system; and of course, some policies are more effective than others. But while each state’s program has its own unique attributes, there are some common themes that suggest an emergent pattern of best practices: Use Time of Use pricing to encourage off-peak charging Like most passenger cars, most EVs are only in use a few hours per day, when drivers are going to and from work, or running errands; the rest of the time – between 20 and 22 hours per day, according to US Department of Transportation - they sit idle. The average car’s idleness presents an opportunity to use price signals to encourage charging during off-peak hours. Several studies have found that, by using time of use pricing for EV charging stations, utilities can get owners to charge their vehicles during periods of low power demand. The benefits of such price signals are substantial: When EVs are charged off peak, consumers face lower energy prices, and utilities increase revenues without the need to invest in new grid or generating capacity. Already, a growing body of evidence points to the ability of TOU rates to enhance the EV value proposition for consumers and power companies: In Virginia and North Carolina, Dominion Resources is running a pilot project, to determine how TOU pricing may influence vehicle charging behavior. According to the California Transportation Electrification Assessment, the net benefit to utilities, which could be recycled back to all ratepayers, varies from $2800 to $9,800 over the life of the electric vehicle, depending on the rate structure. These benefits occur by charging EVs at off-peak when capacity utilization is low. The report found, “additional revenue from PEV charging exceeds the marginal costs to deliver electricity to the customer, providing positive net revenues that put downward pressure on rates.” The U.S. Department of Energy’s EV Project found that TOU pricing pushes the majority of EV charging into off-peak hours: “In regions where the electric utility provided TOU rates, the driver typically programmed the EVSE or PEV to begin charging at the time the lower rate started.” In regions that didn’t have TOU pricing, the EV Project found that EV owners plugged in their vehicles in the early evening, when capacity utilization is often high. The rate structure is a key factor in determining whether EVs are good or bad for the grid. Use smart charging of EVs to increase grid flexibility, reduce rates As everyone in the electricity business knows, the rapid growth of variable renewable energy will eventually lead to technical challenges with grid integration. Through the use of smart charging and related technologies, utilities can actually use their customers’ EVs to enhance grid flexibility – while reducing rates for all ratepayers. When combined with smart meters, sub-meters, and advanced controls, utilities can turn EVs into the equivalent of a “utility infielder” for the grid. Most scenarios for very high renewable energy penetration envision some form of rapid-dispatch storage that can absorb excess generation during periods of high solar or wind output, and feed it back to the grid during low generation. Theoretically, smart charging for EV could enable EVs to be charged when there is excess generation from renewables. Over the longer term, the batteries being developed for EV penetration could become an integral component of the distribution system. Research continues to determine if it’s possible that EVs (and their used batteries) could feed energy back to the grid, known as vehicle to grid (V2G). But there are major barriers to using EVs to provide power to the grid, since doing so may degrade battery life and may void vehicle warranties. EV charging stations can also be set up to participate in demand response programs. Because individual EV batteries are too small to provide utility-scale benefits, the concept will likely require utilities to aggregate multiple EVs, such as fleets, into pools of dispatchable power that range from 0.1 to 1 MW in size. But there are clear advantages to doing so: EV batteries ramp very rapidly, and can provide ancillary services like any other fast-ramping source. In a recent pilot project, GM’s OnStar division worked with PJM Interconnection, the world’s largest competitive wholesale electricity market, to coordinate EV charging to coincide with times of high renewable energy production - in particular, overnight wind power production. By informing OnStar when renewable resources were available on the grid, PJM showed that it’s possible to shift EV charging to be powered primarily by renewable energy, resulting in substantial air quality benefits and reducing the carbon footprint of vehicle charging. While there are still many policy and related issues to be addressed in deploying such a system, the hurdles are no longer technical in nature: To enable a grid-interactive vehicle system to move forward in which EVs are serving as resources in wholesale markets, regulators, ISO/RTOs, utilities, and other stakeholders will need to make decisions about how these systems should be structured to clarify ownership and participation. A clearly defined program in which customers understand what they are signing up for and how they benefit from participating will be necessary. Rate-base charging stations for maximum benefit As recently as 2011, regulators in California opposed utility ownership of charging stations, out of fear that such a move would stifle innovation and competition. But with a few years of experience under their belts, the California PUC is now headed in the opposite direction. With the benefit of hindsight, the reasons are fairly straightforward: EV charging stations must integrate with the grid seamlessly, and meet the same rigorous standards for safety and reliability required of utilities. If states are to truly push the large-scale deployment of EVs, they’ll need to turn to utilities as the most experienced operator. But, as the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Utilities, EV owners, and the broader public all stand to gain substantial benefits from the large-scale development of EV charging stations. The policies that empower utilities to collect the revenues and invest in the needed EV infrastructure must therefore ensure those benefits are properly distributed - and don’t result in market distortions that hinder other objectives, such as encouraging continuous technological innovation, fostering new business opportunities for service providers, enhancing environmental performance, and extending the benefits of vehicle electrification to all. As states begins to address the carbon emissions that cause climate change, there will need to be an even greater focus on the transportation sector as a major source of this pollution. By embracing vehicle electrification and the related need for new infrastructure, utilities stand to help solve the challenge of decarbonizing the transport sector. But that means they’ll also need to continue addressing carbon emissions from their core operations, and not simply shift the proximate cause of emissions from stationary to mobile sources. There are many challenges that lie ahead - we’ll need to properly structure utility policies, while continuing to entice consumers to purchase electric vehicles through rebates, incentives, and other programs. But all signs point to utilities having a central role in the effort to bring human mobility out of the oil age, and into the era of vehicle electrification. [© 2015 Industry Dive] [© bizjournals.com] http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/ohio-energy-inc/2015/07/aep-more-electric-cars-could-mean-big-changes-for.html AEP: More electric cars could mean big changes for power demand Jul 20, 2015 Tom Knox Electric cars like the Tesla P85 may put more demand on power companies. American Electric Power Company Inc. is keeping a close watch on the proliferation on electric vehicles. The Columbus-based utility will be impacted as companies – most notably Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) – continue to build better electric cars. “If you do electrify the automotive fleet, that’s a huge change in the demand cycle,” AEP COO Bob Powers told me. Last year more than 123,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in the U.S., a sliver of the total 16.5 million new vehicles to hit American roads. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk is viewed as a visionary, and his company's vehicles keep improving their battery life and price. More vehicles means much more power used on AEP’s considerable grid. Powers laid out a scenario in a typical subdivision: There’s one homeowner with a standard 85 kilowatt-hour Tesla S vehicle who wants to use high-power charging to quickly charge the battery. In that case, he said, AEP probably wouldn’t have to do anything to its distribution system – the neighborhood-level power poles and transformers. If one or two other neighbors wanted to fast-charge a battery to boost it in a couple of hours, however, “We would have to make upgrades to the distribution system to not, basically, have it go out on overload,” Powers said. The company needs to improve its communication so consumers can let AEP know if Teslas are moving in to their area, Powers said. It could use Big Data to predict which neighborhoods are likely to use electric cars so AEP can start planning for new substations to support them. Smart meters would make power surges easier to react to. In Central Ohio, the company has rolled out more than 130,000 but still has nearly 900,000 to go. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is still working with AEP on the rollout. One of the issues is what AEP can charge customers who want to opt-out of a smart meter. AEP had proposed $31 a month but recently agreed to lower it to $24 after complaints from consumer groups. “I would think if the world goes toward more electric vehicles, you’d see a clarion call not only on our part but the customers’ part to get smarter meters out to help understand what’s going on out there,” Powers said. [© bizjournals.com] http://www.startribune.com/electric-vehicles-for-power-companies/318545151/ Electric vehicles for power companies By David Shaffer July 25, 2015 For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-How-EVSE-Energy-Storage-Can-Make-Good-Grid-Partners-v-tp4676947.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
