Green Mountain Power has deployed what it says is a first-of-its kind vehicle-to-grid charger to reduce energy use on the grid during peak demand. A bi-directional Fermata electric vehicle charger was installed at its Colchester, Vt. office in October. The charger is now drawing energy from the company’s 2019 Nissan Leaf during energy peaks.
Green Mountain has the region’s most aggressive program of subsidizing Powerall home batteries and using them as a “virtual plant” to trim peak charges. The Nissan EV battery holds about four times as much energy as one Powerwall.
One problem with vehicle-to-grid is that more frequent charging/discharging can reduce the life span of the battery. How big a problem that is in real life remains to be seen.
Return to the Concord Monitor