V2G—and Even Hydrogen—Could Save the Electric Grid as EVs Arrive En Masse

• As summer heat peaks and demand for electricity peaks with it, the need for a smarter grid has never been greater.

• Part of the increased demand comes from electric cars, which have to plug in to the grid to “refuel.”

• EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can actually help alleviate load on the grid, via V2G or vehicle-to-grid charging, and even through the use of off-peak power to create hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles.

Just about the entire country is sizzling under end-of-summer high-heat-Hades right now. As air conditioners whir across the country in vain efforts to counter this frying pan peak, electricity grids are maxxed out.

This Labor Day Weekend, for instance, we here in the Golden State have all been told by the California Independent System Operator—the entity that controls the electric grid in the state—to curtail electricity use from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day through next week. The reason given was that if we carry on with business as usual it would mean rolling blackouts—i.e., we might crash the system. A gander at the National Weather Service map shows the whole country is sizzling, too, so as California goes, so goes the nation, at least this weekend. The Cal ISO request for “voluntary energy conservation” includes citizens being asked to not charge their electric cars during those hours. Of course, citizens are also asked to curtail use of their air conditioners, washing machines, dishwashers, and vacuum cleaners, too. Not to mention any scheduled maintenance on electric power plants in the state is being delayed.

But it’s the electric car charging that is getting all the attention.