article thumbnail

3 Things Utilities Can Do to Prepare the Power Grid for More Electric Cars

EV Connect

Can the power grid actually handle that many electric cars? The capacity is there, but to truly handle this new surge in EV grid demand, it will take planning on the part of utility companies across the U.S. grid produced in 2020. Can the Power Grid Handle the Growing EV Demand? of what the U.S.

article thumbnail

PG&E and BMW of North America start V2X testing in California

Green Car Congress

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and BMW of North America (BMW) are collaborating to test how vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can serve as a solution to offset growing demand on the power grid, improve reliability for electric customers, and maximize the usage of renewable energy.

article thumbnail

The Benefits of Bidirectional Charging

Wallbox

To make it clear, in a unidirectional (one-way) EV charger, electricity flows from the electric grid into the electric vehicle and with a bidirectional (two-way) EV charger, electricity can flow both ways. Let’s put it this way, if you’ve already paid to charge your vehicle, why not use the left-over power to run your home too?

Charging 111
article thumbnail

IBM, Honda, and PG&E partner on smarter charging for EVs; utilities to communicate charging instructions directly based on grid conditions

Green Car Congress

and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on a new pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate and test an electric vehicle’s ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle’s battery state.

Grid 207
article thumbnail

GE and Nissan Get Into Smart Charging

Revenge of the Electric Car

General Electric and Nissan plan to research “smart charging&# technologies for electric vehicles to help consumers take advantage of cheaper electricity rates and keep the power grid stable. smart-grid lab for three years. “Initially the small numbers of electric vehicles will not strain the grid. .

Nissan 100
article thumbnail

Coming Soon – The Electric City

Revenge of the Electric Car

And at the headquarters of Pacific Gas and Electric, utility executives are preparing “heat maps” of neighborhoods that they fear may overload the power grid in their exuberance for electric cars.&#. If you just allow willy-nilly random charging, are we going to have neighborhood blackouts?” February 15, 2010.

article thumbnail

Smart Meters and Electric Cars

Revenge of the Electric Car

The garage studies the integration of the electric vehicle into the power grid system where it either charges or discharges to accommodate the owner’s electricity needs. This would allow utilities to stagger when electric cars are charging, or charge up power all at once if generation is high.