A converted Toyota Scion xB wins itself the laurel of being the first electric car that supports the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept practically. It, in fact, testifies how a clean concept could help its driver to realize savings, cut his expenses, and ultimately, contribute to the power grid. The box-like Scion was recently unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
toyota scion xb
What makes the concept go practical?
This is the first vehicle that's ever been paid to participate in the grid -- the first proof of concept vehicle.
Says Ken Huber from PJM Interconnection while stating that the company offers 30 dollars for an hour of discharge.
The V2G cars have embedded batteries to store energy that is produced using electricity and gasoline. When the batteries have accumulated sufficient power, an Internet-over-powerline connection sends signal to the aggregator’s server. The server then maintains a sort of equilibrium between the car and the grid, and tries to keep the electricity output at a constant level. Later, the cars is plugged into sockets in home garages or commercial fleets like the US Postal Service's vans for discharging the amassed power.
More companies chipping in...
Willett Kempton, a V2G project at the University of Delaware, said...
Ten years ago, this was just a plan. Today, it's a real project and in 10 years, we'll be producing tens of megawatts of power this way... We're going to try to determine how we can work together on this. It's a technology that is very good at meeting a need we have, and there's growing interest among auto companies to develop V2G vehicles.
Taking into consideration the acute power crunch we are going through, the V2G concept is gaining momentum as companies like Renault/Nissan, Mitsubishi and BMW have all geared up to make the most of the opportunity, contingency rather. They’re developing all-electric vehicles that support this system. As of now, the above-mentioned Toyota Scion xB is the only car that has realized the concept to the fullest.
Via: AFP
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