Like Australia, the UK has the same concerns around energy supply. Prices inconveniently rise as supply becomes less secure, and the need to achieve Net Zero tempts coal and gas companies to limit supply to keep profits high. To combat this, the Electric Nation V2G project has proved that EV drivers can reduce their energy bills by using vehicle to grid (V2G) charging.

In previous stories, we’ve mentioned bi-directional charging, that allows cars such as Nissan Peaf to be used as a mobile battery.

Electric Nation, an Innovation project of Western Power Distribution (WPD), in partnership with CrowdCharge, asked 100 Nissan electric vehicle (EV) owners in the Midlands, South West England and South Wales to take part in the trial of V2G smart charging technology. The results of the experiment are in, and it is promising.

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Nissan Leaf Charging Australia

ABOVE: Nissan EVs used in Successful V2G Micro Grid Experiment

In experiments were funded through the Network Innovation Allowance (NIA), Electric Nation. The main difference with this project and others is the fact that it used different sources of power and export tariff types. It is a real-world model in a world in which many streets will have a number of EVs using V2G chargers operated by different energy suppliers.

It turns when limited area into a micro grid that works from a technical point of view, and customers loved it. It has also shown that EV owners can charge at off-peak times when energy is cheaper and greener, and by using V2G, they can sell this energy back into the grid, or use it in their home, to help minimise energy demand at peak times. This can help take the stress off the electricity grid and enable low-cost renewable energy to be used in the home when grid prices and the carbon content of electricity are high.

Participants who also had solar panels were able to charge their EVs with free 100% renewable energy. The trial allowed participants to transfer this green energy from the EV to the home at peak times, so further reducing demand on the grid.

We’ve been talking about the future of locally produced power, bypassing long distance transmission, while stabilising local areas.

One participant, Marie Hubbard, used her Nissan e-NV200 campervan. “As well as trialling the Electric Nation vehicle to grid charger, I have solar panels on the roof of my house, and an electricity tariff that allows me to import and export energy. So I set the vehicle to charge during the night when electricity prices are lower, and I exported energy from the vehicle to the grid during the peak times of higher demand.

The result is that as well as reducing my electricity bill from £50 to £25 per month, I also made £25 per month by supplying energy to the grid. This shows that vehicle to grid charging has the potential to reduce people’s energy bills, as well as helping to reduce the amount of electricity generated by fossil fuels.”

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