KEMA Helps Assess Plug-in Electric Vehicle Integration with ISO/RTO Systems
Furthering the potential benefits and widespread use of PEVs
KEMA, in partnership with Taratec Corporation, assisted the ISO / RTO Council (IRC) in assessing the integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PHEV) with ISO / RTO systems. The resulting report, “Assessment of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Integration with ISO/RTO Systems,” examines the technical hurdles and tools needed to foster the potential benefits of widespread use of PEVs.
Among the study’s conclusions:
Staggered charging of PEVs would reduce the potential negative impact on electric load.
Car batteries could be used for energy storage if PEVs are widely adopted.
Power companies will need new tools to manage growth in PEV use.
As detailed in the March 23, 2010 IRC press release, within a decade, as many as one million PEV vehicles may be on the nation’s roadways. Of that total, nearly 70 percent are projected by the IRC study to be located in regions served by the ISOs and RTOs. The PEVs plugging into the grid in U.S. ISO/RTO regions could add electric load of 3,785 megawatts (MW) if every PEV charged simultaneously. In contrast, electric load would increase by about one-fifth that total (819 MW) if charging were staggered over an 8-hour period and less than 546 MW over a 12-hour period. The IRC study suggests that initial PEV sales are likely to cluster on the West Coast and Northeast and be heavily concentrated in large urban areas.
The IRC study promotes adoption of smart grid technologies and new pricing mechanisms in an effort to accommodate PEV demands for electricity, avoid potential service disruptions, and minimize wholesale electricity price impacts. The IRC study also examines the feasibility of deploying various smart grid tools and services that would allow grid operators to use PEV technology as an innovative energy storage and distribution resource to balance local energy needs.
A copy of the report is available at the IRC website.