Dutch city scoops with green power from electric cars
The district in the Netherlands can run almost 100% on it’s own solar power
Generating local electricity with solar panels during the day, store the excess in electric cars in the neighborhood, and set back the electricity back to households in the same area in the current evening: that isn’t a dream anymore.
Since June 9th, 2015, this idea is reality in a part of the Dutch city Utrecht.
This city is the first to gain experience with the use of electric cars as temporary storage for renewable power. The system – already running on a trial – is seen as the perfect solution for local energy storage and flexible energy demands.
In this trial district, forty of the 4,500 households own an electric car. In the morning, 20 of the cars are still at home because a lot of the people work at home. Those cars are available to store the extra electricity from solar panels in the district.
25 hours supply
The district counts 1,500 solar panels on roofs of schools and houses. The energy from these solar panels is more than enough to supply the households at day time. The surplus energy can be stored in those 20 car batteries.
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Smart Grid roadmap for the future?
How this smart grid project works? Through a smart charging point, that can realtime charge batteries with solar energy, and discharge car batteries when the energy is needed in the evening.
The interesting thing is that – with this charging point – the district can run for almost 100% on it’s own solar power.
The car is charged in the daytime and at night it is slowly returned to the grid again, so that solar energy is actually used 24 hours a day.
The car is charged in the daytime and at night it is slowly returned to the grid again, so that solar energy is actually used 24 hours a day.
First in Europe
For partner General Electric, it is the first system operational in Europe. A giant step towards a green economy. By the end of 2016, the results of this trial will be released. Car factory Nissan wants this project to be an international example for charging and discharging green energy in car batteries.
Car owners worries
Owners of electric cars who wonder whether the continuous charging and discharging is good for their batteries, need not worry.
“The batteries in electric cars are so advanced, they actually do not wear out. Nissan has a lot of experience with the system in Japan, where electric cars are used as a backup in case of power failures, for years now. “
Related
- Smart Grid Energy Storage Systems (dossier)
- Pros & Cons of (renewable) energy sources (dossier)
- Smart Grids: The Future Is Now
- Now it’s time to buy solar panels
- G7 agrees on ending global warming
