California has introduced a bill of bidirectional charging. This bill is part of California’s commitment to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity. The state aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase its share of renewable energy, an effort which includes transitioning from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs).
Bidirectional charging, also known as vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G), enables EVs to not only be powered by the grid but also act as storage devices that can send power back into it. This opens up a number of exciting possibilities for both EV owners and utilities who could use V2G technology as a form of demand response management or even provide EV batteries as backup energy sources in case of emergencies.
California has already taken steps towards implementing V2G technology. For instance, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved an incentive program to provide rebates for home EV chargers with bidirectional capability and is piloting a project which uses EVs as demand response resources.
In order for these programs to be successful and widespread, there needs to be a clear timeline of when all EVs should have bidirectional capabilities. The bill proposed by California is a step in that direction and will help ensure that the EV market develops in a way that optimizes both cost savings and environmental benefits.
How Will it Be Possible?
At the same time, there are many questions that need to be addressed before implementation. Issues such as how utilities will pay customers for returning electricity to the grid, or even how to ensure that the system is interoperable and secure need to be addressed. This is why it is so important for the workgroup convened by the bill to look into these issues and develop recommendations on how they can be solved.
Conclusion
The introduction of this bill shows California’s commitment towards achieving its carbon-free electricity goal while simultaneously looking for ways to make EV ownership more attractive and beneficial for both individual consumers as well as utilities. It will be interesting to see what kind of solutions are proposed by the workgroup in order to make bidirectional charging a reality.
