NRG EVgo Pushes the Envelope on Microgrids and Electric Vehicles…and More Microgrid News
NRG’s EVgo and the University of California, San Diego are pushing the envelope on use of microgrids and electric vehicles.
The pair recently announced an agreement which has EVgo leading two projects at the university, known for its flagship microgrid.
In the first project, EVgo is assessing how owners of electric vehicle DC charging sites can leverage solar, battery storage, and control systems to ease utility demand charges and provide services to the grid.
In the second project, EVgo will operate a fleet of bidirectional electric vehicles from Nissan and Honda (including a modified version of the Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid.) The goal is to test applicability of vehicle-to-grid technology for California.
This vehicle-to-grid initiative builds off of EVgo’s ongoing collaboration with the University of Delaware. In 2013, EVgo and the University of Delaware, working with PJM Interconnection, brought online the world’s first project where electric vehicles served as an official resource on a power grid.
The energy resources from both projects will feed into UC San Diego’s microgrid, considered one of the most advanced microgrids in the world. Serving more than 45,000 people, the microgrid generates more than 85 percent of the electricity used on campus annually and saves the university more than $8 million a year in power costs.
As part of the agreement, EVgo is funding UC San Diego faculty and staff to support the physical installations as well as EVgo’s research, development and demonstration objectives for the microgrids and electric vehicles project.
“The integration of renewable energy into the mainstream is one of the keys to helping the State of California meet its aggressive future energy goals,” said Arun Banskota, president, EVgo. “EVgo has a history of innovation and cooperation with academic leaders in this space – and valued automaker partners such as Nissan and Honda – and we will continue to lead through our actions like this agreement with UC San Diego.”
