Industry News
Xcel Energy announces six-month test drive of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
24th October 2007
Six plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will be on the road by the end of 2007 as part of a demonstration test of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology by Xcel Energy, the U.S. energy company. The goal is to determine how consumers can use the vehicles to significantly lower greenhouse gases, shore up electricity grid reliability and prove PHEVs are a viable alternative to today’s cars.
The project, which will convert six Ford Escape Hybrids to PHEVs equipped with ‘V2G’ technology so each can charge and discharge power to and from the grid, is one of the U.S.’s first real-world demonstrations of plug-in hybrid technology. The six-month test programme is expected to cost about $465,000.
With operations in eight states, Xcel Energy will study how the vehicles perform in varied geographic regions and climates over a six-month period. Three company employees will serve as test drivers, using three of the PHEVs in typical home settings. The remaining three PHEVs will be used in the company’s fleet.
“With every U.S. home connected to the electricity grid, vehicle-to-grid technology could be key to meeting our growing energy needs,” said Michael Lamb, executive director of Xcel Energy Utility Innovations. “This project will allow us to explore how PHEVs can become an integrated part of a ‘smart house’ and our vision of the smart grid energy system of the future - one that allows customers and utilities to work together to balance the power grid, lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve our nation’s energy security.”
Xcel Energy’s demonstration will build on its previous PHEV impact study by examining how drivers and their vehicles will react and perform in real-world settings. The project is a joint collaboration between Xcel Energy; Hybrids Plus Inc. in Boulder, Colo.; V2Green Inc. in Seattle, Wash.; and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.
To make the cars V2G capable, each will be equipped with a V2Green Connectivity Module that controls vehicle charging, collects data and communicates via a cellular modem; and an ‘Inverger’ (a 6-kilowatt inverter and charger in a single unit) from Hybrids Plus. Hybrids Plus will replace the cars’ nickel-metal hydride batteries with a lithium-ion phosphate battery pack. V2Green will also supply server software enabling remote control of smart charging and V2G functions.
By fitting the vehicles with these components, Xcel Energy can remotely control the battery cycles in each vehicle by requesting that each postpones charging or begins discharging energy back to the electricity grid.
Xcel is Colorado's largest utility, with about 1.3 million customers in the state.
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