San Diego Gas & Electric, the Cajon Valley Union School District and technology firm Nuvve have completed the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project in Southern California.
The V2G project will enable eight electric school buses to send electricity back to the grid during high consumption periods, like on hot summer days. The project will help boost grid reliability.
This is also the first V2G bi-directional project to come online in the U.S. after the DOE’s announcement of a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) initiative in Los Angeles in April. SDG&E is one of the signatories to the V2X memorandum of understanding.
At Cajon Valley’s bus yard, SDG&E has installed six 60 kW bi-directional DC fast chargers as part of a five-year pilot program. The bi-directional chargers will enable Cajon Valley to participate in SDG&E’s new Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP). Under the program, business customers get $2/kWh for energy sent to the grid or a reduction of energy use during grid emergencies.
SDG&E Vice President of Energy Innovation Miguel Romero said the pilot project will help reduce GHG emissions and strengthen the electric grid. He added, “Electric fleets represent a vast untapped energy storage resource and hold immense potential to benefit our customers and community not just environmentally, but also financially and economically.”
Many local agencies and firms in California are working to transition to electric fleets as all new cars and passenger trucks have to be emissions-free from 2035.
“School buses are an excellent use case for V2G,” said Nuvve Co-Founder, Chair and CEO Gregory Poilasne. “They hold larger batteries than standard vehicles and can spend peak solar hours parked and plugged into bi-directional chargers. Nuvve’s technology enables the grid to draw energy from a bus when it is needed most, yet still ensuring the bus has enough stored power to operate when needed.”
Additional V2G projects are being undertaken by SDG&E with San Diego Unified and Ramona Unified School Districts.
The V2G technology enables vehicle batteries to charge during the day and then send clean energy to the grid during peak times.
