E-cars can help to sustain the power grid of the future

Electric cars will be needed both as a greener form of transport and as storage devices for a power grid that relies on intermittent renewable energy sources if Germany is to hit its Paris Climate Agreement targets, Michael Neißendorfer writes in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “In an ideal case, money can be made [by e-car owners] with a pv installation on the roof, a battery in the basement and an e-car in the garage,” he writes. The so-called Vehicle to Grid technology, also referred to as bi-directional charging, enables car owners to both withdraw power from the grid and to supply it back if the car is not in use, Neißendorfer says. Japanese carmaker Nissan, which is about to test such a system in the Netherlands and the UK, said car owners could earn on average about 400 euros annually if they provide power back to the grid.

Read the article in German here.

Also see the CLEW factsheet How can Germany keep the lights on in a renewable energy future?