V2G TECHNOLOGY
Are you considering V2G as an option for your electric vehicles?
39% No
N/A (No current plans for electrification) 38%
22% Yes
(Out of 104 responses.)
be sent out across a city to keep folks warm or cool, charge their cell phones, etc. Because these vehicles have no toxic tailpipe emissions, they can safely idle as long as needed. We are also exploring other larger resiliency roles these buses can fill, making them an even more active member of the local community.” Not all projects go smoothly. A three-year V2G study in
White Plains, New York was deemed a success even though, at the outset, it was beset with glitches and dependability issues. One OEM executive remarked, “Early on…there were some is- sues with the hardware that we learned required some energy throttling to increase reliability.”
Arbitrage: The Art of Give and Take The skillful manipulation by energy management compa-
nies of EV vehicle charging and discharging energy to and from the grid is called “arbitrage,” according to Steve Kelley, chief commercial officer for InCharge, a Santa Monica-based, one-stop shop for clients seeking to electrify their fleets. Kelley said school districts can profit by charging their buses during low demand periods at low-cost-per-Kwh and discharging electricity back to the grid during peak demand when utility companies will pay them more per kWh for the energy. “It’s similar to stationary battery storage in big enclosures
with lithium-ion batteries that are used to reduce demand in the buildings,” Kelley said. “You charge the batteries when energy is cheap and dispense energy from the batteries during peak hours when energy is expensive. Schools don’t under- stand that this is so complicated they really need a partner that can help them figure out when to do it, the timing, and the im- pact on the batteries because they will de-rate faster and have less capacity you can use over time.” Kelley explained that InCharge helps fleet customers develop
the right infrastructure to help convert their fleets to electric. They perform construction, manufacture and install chargers and act as liaisons with utility companies. “We work with OEMs Navistar, Blue Bird and Thomas Built Buses,” he said. “We also do all the software for fleet management and load management.” He said InCharge has a couple projects pending on the East Coast including a vehicle to building (V2B) project with a school district in New York that he could not identify because of pending approval from the local utility company to proceed. “[T]hey’ve never done V2B before,” Kelley said. “This is all about perfecting the process.” That is what The Mobility House said it is doing abroad.
Zoheb Davar, director of business development and growth for the energy manager, commented his company has 10 success- ful, small-scale, bi-directional projects in progress abroad that are contributing to the grids, but none in the U.S. and none currently that involve large vehicles. “Most of [the projects] are in Europe with one or two in Singapore,” Davar said. “The proj- ects are going well. This was to work out our V2G process.”
48 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2022
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