In a world first, a fleet of Canberra electric vehicles fed power to the Australian electricity grid during an emergency outage.
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The results of Australian National University research can offer insights into vehicle-to-grid technology, study author Dr Bjorn Sturmberg said.
"It shows electric vehicles can provide the backup we need in an emergency like this," he said.
"We now know a vehicle-to-grid system can work."
First real world test
On February 13 this year, a major storm event hit Victoria, west of Melbourne.
It would eventually damage 12,000 km of powerlines and poles and cut power to 500,000 homes and businesses, according to Energy Victoria.
A fleet of 51 Nissan Leaf cars - 50 owned by the ACT government and one by ActewAGL - were programmed to sense a drop in frequency in the power system.
![Dr Bjorn Sturmberg with an Actew AGL Nissan Leaf. Picture by Dion Georgopoulos Dr Bjorn Sturmberg with an Actew AGL Nissan Leaf. Picture by Dion Georgopoulos](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/135763310/c0a3f9aa-7668-4b0a-9eaa-4d0061d2b4d4.jpg/r0_307_6000_3694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
At the time, 16 of the cars were plugged in at properties across Canberra.
It was about 1pm, so many of the other vehicles were on the road.
The plugged-in vehicles noticed a drop in the frequency and discharged two per cent of their batteries.
They were programmed to discharge five kilowatts of power for a 10 minute period.
"These vehicles quickly stopped charging and within seconds started discharging power into the grid, as they've been programmed to do," Dr Sturmberg said.
"In total, they provided 107 kilowatts of support to the national grid. To put that in perspective, 105,000 vehicles responding in this way would fully cover the backup required for the whole of the ACT and NSW."
There was minimal disruption to the availability of the cars, Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said.
![A Nissan Leaf owner in his car. Picture by Elesa Kurtz A Nissan Leaf owner in his car. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/135763310/d0c86f15-ecab-4c3f-bb57-6b7f76026038.jpg/r0_112_4210_2479_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
During the storm, 12 of the plugged-in vehicles were idle and four were charging.
Unfortunately, after that ten minute period, the electric cars started re-charging. The power system had not fully recovered.
"There would be little cost or inconvenience in delaying charging for an hour or two in this kind of situation," Dr Sturmberg said.
He also mentioned that while these 16 vehicles discharged, another 32 in the same garages and continued to charge.
"This highlights that we should be doing more to stop regular electric vehicles from charging [in emergencies]," he said.
The researcher said these emergency events are "very rare but very critical", occurring only once every few years.
"Our results show that vehicle-to-grid can be a powerful contributor to our power system's security, and that all electric vehicles have an important role to play," he said.
"Stopping just 6000 [electric vehicles from] charging would have kept the power on for those [many] customers whose power was cut."
EV drawbacks
Dr Sturmberg said electric vehicles (EVs) put pressure on the Australian electricity grid.
"With the number of EVs on our roads growing fast, the grid won't be able to cope with everyone charging at the same time when they get home in the evening," he said.
"It may call for an industry adjustment, for instance, to require EV manufacturers to program their vehicles to stop charging during a grid emergency, with an option for drivers to override for urgent charging."
An upside of electric vehicles is they can be charged outside peak hours, Dr Sturmberg said.
![Senior Research Fellow Dr Bjorn Sturmberg with an electric vehicle charger. Picture by Crystal Li Senior Research Fellow Dr Bjorn Sturmberg with an electric vehicle charger. Picture by Crystal Li](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/135763310/61c23b2c-57d0-484d-b741-c80361932452.jpg/r0_29_1200_706_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If we want to be able to charge our EVs without costly upgrades [to infrastructure], we can do what we call the flexibility of electric vehicle charging," he said.
Owners should charge overnight and during the day.
"If we do that the system can accommodate lots of electric vehicles," he said.
Most electric vehicles can charge at scheduled times - but it requires owners to set up the software.
Motorists also need to plug-in their cars frequently so it charges at an optimal time, not when the battery is low.
Some retailers offer free charging during certain hours, and more workplaces should have charging stations, Dr Sturmberg said.
Vehicle-to-grid technology
The ACT government is committed to enabling vehicle-to-grid technology, Mr Rattenbury said.
"[Vehicle-to-grid] technology works using a bi-directional charger, meaning the energy from an [electric vehicle] battery can be quickly enabled to start sending electricity back into the grid, just like rooftop solar," he said.
"The ACT continues to lead on the adoption of clean, innovative energy technologies. These results show that [vehicle-to-grid technology] can be a powerful contributor to the security of our electricity grid, while also reducing emissions from transport."
Enabling vehicle-to-grid technology will reduce energy bills for everyone, according to Ross De Rango, head of energy and infrastructure at the Electric Vehicle Council.
"We'll be able to meet significant amounts of energy system peak demand from our cars, rather than from burning fossil fuels, and then recharge them later on from excess wind or solar," he said.
"With the right support from government Australia could build on our world leading position in rooftop solar to become a world leader in [vehicle-to-grid] as well."
The project was funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the ACT Government.