With people across Scotland and the UK facing soaring energy gas and electricity prices, Octopus Energy and the National Grid have announced a "major turning point" to help customers save money.
There have been a range of solutions proposed to help the public through the worsening cost of living crisis, including dropping VAT and large-scale market reforms.
Octopus Energy and the National Grid have now unveiled the first successful integration of vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G) in the UK. The state-of-the-art technology allows those with electric cars to turn their vehicle into a 'battery pack' that can be used to supply their home with energy "off-grid".
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In practice, electric car owners could charge their vehicle during off-hours when demand is not so high and electricity is less expensive. Then, the vehicle could be used to power their home during peak hours when electricity is more costly.
In a statement, Octopus said that had demonstrated the successful use of V2G technology for the first time in the UK. It said: “It marks a major turning point in electricity supply and means that in the future, consumers could play a direct role in balancing the national transmission system through their electric vehicles.”
The energy supplier conducted a number of tests over the past month, studying batteries of as many as 20 electric vehicles by charging them and then discharging them to the Grid.
The results revealed that, by directing power back to the Grid, a million electric vehicles could output as much energy as 5,500 onshore wind turbines.
Octopus Electric Vehicles also discovered that electric vehicles could save the public as much as £62 million a year on their energy costs. Even people who do not own an electric vehicle would benefit financially.
Further research conducted by Octopus revealed that customers could save as much as £840 a year compared to unscheduled charging on a flat rate tariff.
Claire Miller, Director of Technology and Innovation at Octopus Electric Vehicles, comments: “This is a real ‘line in the sand’ moment for V2G tech.
“We have shown that this technology is capable of helping to balance our future, green grid, to the benefit of people and the planet.
“We’ve proved what is possible with the technology and cars that are currently on the market, and this is only going to grow.
“Soon we will have millions of electric cars sitting on driveways capable of storing and exporting green energy back to the grid when it needs it most - and once the vehicle to grid proposition is ready to be launched, these cars will help to support our renewables expansion and taking us a huge step closer to net zero.”
Jake Rigg, Corporate Affairs Director, National Grid ESO, comments: “Vehicle-to-grid technology opens the door for everyone to engage in our electricity system, in a way that we can all benefit from.
“The next steps for us are to take these learnings and work with industry on how we develop and deploy a balancing mechanism service for V2G.
“The trial findings will also influence future innovation projects, including the CrowdFlex project we are currently developing with industry, to establish additional routes for consumer engagement in electricity networks.”
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