Clean vehicles as an enabler for a clean electricity grid

Abstract

California has issued ambitious targets to decarbonize transportation through the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs), and to decarbonize the electricity grid through the expansion of both renewable generation and energy storage. These parallel efforts can provide an untapped synergistic opportunity for clean transportation to be an enabler for a clean electricity grid. To quantify this potential, we forecast the hourly system-wide balancing problems arising out to 2025 as more renewables are deployed and load continues to grow. We then quantify the system-wide balancing benefits from EVs modulating the charging or discharging of their batteries to mitigate renewable intermittency, without compromising the mobility needs of drivers. Our results show that with its EV deployment target and with only one-way charging control of EVs, California can achieve much of the same benefit of its Storage Mandate for mitigating renewable intermittency, but at a small fraction of the cost. Moreover, EVs provide many times these benefits if two-way charging control becomes widely available. Thus, EVs support the state's renewable integration targets while avoiding much of the tremendous capital investment of stationary storage that can instead be applied towards further deployment of clean vehicles.

Joint Optimization Scheme for the Planning and Operations of Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicle Fleets Serving Mobility on Demand

“…Many studies have assessed the benefits of coordinated PEV charging on electric power system operations, (43)(44)(45). If charging is properly coordinated, it can provide a dual benefit of decarbonizing transportation while lowering the capital costs for widespread renewables integration and reducing the need for energy storage (46)(47)(48)(49). The capability of PEVs to enhance the integration of renewable energy sources, including wind (50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55) and solar, (56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61) into the existing power grid has been widely discussed.…”

Trends in on-road transportation, energy, and emissions

“…The Westport (2018) dual fuel high pressure direct injection (HPDI) engine combines the attributes of clean natural gas combustion combined with diesel engine efficiency. Integrating vehicle batteries into the grid for energy storage could alleviate the intermittent nature of wind and solar electricity (Coignard et al 2018).…”

Impact of electric vehicles on the cost-competitiveness of generation and storage technologies in the electricity system

“…Previous studies using modelling of the system impact of variation management have been limited to investigating primarily one variation management strategy at a time. There are studies that have compared the impacts of a broader range of variation management strategies and their applications on the electricity system composition [7,11,[16][17][18][19][20][21]. In a case study of California until 2027 by Fripp [7], the Switchmodel shows that wind and solar power could potentially be used to reduce emissions by 90% compare to 1990 levels without losing flexibility in the system or raising the electricity system cost.…”

“…a solar-dominated electricity system). Coignard et al [21] also analysed the integration of VRE using EV batteries to mitigate renewable intermittency. They found, similar to Fripp [7] and Forrest et al [11], that EVs support the California renewable integration targets while avoiding much of the tremendous capital investment of stationary storage.…”