I had a chance to drive a Ford F-150 Lightning a few weeks ago at a special event designed for Michigan Legislators in Lansing. The experience is less like what we expect from a typical truck, and more what we might imagine to pilot a starship. Incredibly smooth, the much-vaunted EV acceleration is exactly what they claim, and the vehicle itself is just an amazing achievement – completely user friendly for anyone that knows how to drive a traditional vehicle. A well informed colleague I spoke to this morning opined that one reason midwestern utilities are moving up deadlines to close coal plants, is recognition that with the rapidly dropping price of home batteries, and increasing uptake of EVs, the massive potential for energy storage is going to smooth the energy transition more than most folks realized just a few years ago.
To some people, electric vehicles are a better option because they can serve multiple functions. Another big advantage: The battery in an F-150 Lightning or the electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which is expected to go on sale this year, can store a lot more energy than home batteries that are sometimes installed with rooftop solar panels. Pair an electric truck with a home solar system, the thinking goes, and a family could keep the lights on for days or even weeks.
The use of electric vehicles as a source of power has intrigued electric utility executives, including Pedro Pizarro, who heads the board of the Edison Electric Institute, the industry’s main trade organization, and is the chief executive of Edison International, which provides power to millions of homes and businesses in Southern California.
Mr. Pizarro’s company and other utilities are testing whether it is practical and safe to send power from electric vehicles to the grid.
By soaking up power when it’s abundant and releasing it when it is scarce, electric vehicles, he said, could serve as “a bigger rubber band to absorb the shocks and manage them day to day and week to week.”
Greater use of electric vehicles in this way should also allow utilities and homeowners to reduce planet-warming emissions by relying more on renewable sources of energy like solar and wind that provide power intermittently.
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For now, few electric vehicles can provide backup power. But executives at Tesla, the dominant electric car company, and other automakers have said they are working on updates that will enable many more cars to do so.
When the power goes out in the Reigards’ neighborhood in Mount Juliet, Tenn., their truck supplies enough electricity to keep the lights on, run four refrigerators and operate a fan in a natural-gas-fueled heating system. The truck doesn’t keep their air-conditioning going, but other essentials turn on just minutes after an outage begins.
When the family lost power around Christmas, Ms. Reigard’s parents, who were visiting, were alarmed because it was freezing outside. “They started thinking, ‘My gosh, what’s going on?’” Mr. Reigard said. His response: “Nothing’s going on. We’re going to be fine.”
The couple have been so pleased by their truck that they bought 10 more for their business, Grade A Construction. They estimate that the investment is saving them $300 a month per vehicle because driving on electricity costs less per mile than burning gasoline.
While the trucks reduce operating costs, outfitting the Reigards’ home with the electrical equipment that lets it receive power from the F-150 required hiring experts and spending thousands of dollars. The couple used Qmerit, a company that manages the development, installation and maintenance of electric vehicles, storage and vehicle-to-home energy systems.
While the trucks reduce operating costs, outfitting the Reigards’ home with the electrical equipment that lets it receive power from the F-150 required hiring experts and spending thousands of dollars. The couple used Qmerit, a company that manages the development, installation and maintenance of electric vehicles, storage and vehicle-to-home energy systems.
Oliver Phillips, chief operating officer at Qmerit, said that over time more people would be able to easily combine solar panels, home batteries and electric vehicles. Put together, those devices will “bulletproof” people against power outages, he said.
Battery-powered vehicles could eventually play an even bigger role by providing energy to the grid when demand for electricity exceeds supply, said Gus Puga, owner of Airstream Services, an electrical, heating and cooling company that worked with Qmerit to install the system at the Reigards’ home.
Some energy experts have worried that the growth of electric cars could strain grids by greatly increasing demand for energy. Mr. Puga disagrees: “I believe we’re going to add stability to the grid.”
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Ford and General Motors are keen on marketing the versatility of their battery-powered models to people who have suffered power outages or fear blackouts.
“It’s really a game-changer,” said Ryan O’Gorman, a business development energy services manager at Ford. “The truck is a giant power source. E.V.s are large and can power the house for several days.”
Mark Bole, head of energy connectivity and battery solutions at G.M., said the company planned to offer a package of devices and services so customers could get the most out of their electric vehicle. “What we see as absolutely key is making it simple and affordable for the customer,” he said.
Watch out for scammy or incompetent installers, though:
Sorry to go off-topic but wanted to share this on a current article.
“The author of a satirical website said the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, is among the “dumbest people in the country” after Abbott shared a fake article about his own state”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/17/greg-abbott-spoof-story-garth-brooks-author-dumb?utm_term=64b52d4416cb192bbe1c969da2069c95&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUS_email