Car parks offer potential for 4.3GW grid flexibility

author: FutureCar Staff    

Imagine this scenario: you're going on a two-week vacation and you have an electric vehicle (EV) that will be parked at the airport. You have two options - keep it plugged in the whole time to maintain the battery's charge, potentially taking up a charger that someone else may need, or leave it unplugged and idle until you return. But what if there was a third option?

UK Power Networks is currently testing a new initiative called 'Park and Flex'. This involves EV drivers plugging into EV chargers that support bidirectional charging. In other words, the energy stored in the car's battery can be used to provide power to the grid during peak demand.

The advantage of this scheme is that EV drivers can benefit from cheap electricity. They can charge their cars when energy is inexpensive and demand is low, such as during sunny days or windy nights. Then, during peak times, they can inject power back into the system.

Early research from the study suggests that the batteries of electric cars parked in long-stay car parks could potentially power more than 1.3 million homes. This flexible electricity demand, estimated at 4.3GW, could significantly contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy in London, the East, and South East of England.

The study utilized advanced modeling and forecasts from UK Power Networks and energy specialist Baringa to determine the potential impact of electric vehicles on the grid. Long-stay car parks, like airports, were found to offer greater benefits compared to shorter-term solutions like hotels or supermarket car parks. This is because the length of a vehicle's stay in a long-stay car park, determined by the customer's flight dates, provides network operators with valuable insights into spare power or capacity.

If the Park and Flex initiative is implemented across the 140,000 long-stay parking spaces in the areas served by UK Power Networks, it is estimated that £1.3 billion in flexible energy savings could be achieved by 2050.

Ian Cameron, Director of Customer Service and Innovation at UK Power Networks, envisions a future where dormant vehicles can be transformed into one of the UK's largest flexible batteries. This dynamic battery, fueled by thousands of electric vehicles, could play a significant role in creating a new green energy supply without requiring any effort from customers.

The Park and Flex project is being developed in collaboration with Fermata Energy and energy consultancy Baringa, with support from Innovate UK's Strategic Innovation Fund. As the study progresses, it will explore how this vision can be implemented on a national scale and identify the customer incentives necessary to make it a reality.

Tony Posawatz, CEO of Fermata Energy, highlights the potential of bi-directional (V2G) charging in supporting UK distribution networks during peak events. He emphasizes the value that can be unlocked in public car parks at airports, where thousands of vehicles are parked for extended periods, offering resilience and stability to the grid while reducing costs. The Park and Flex study aims to demonstrate the scalable benefits of V2G technology in public car parks for both grid networks and consumers.

FutureCar Staff