EV NEWS
California is quite known for its power outages and blackouts, caused primarily by climate challenges like storms and rocketing power demands.
It looks like we would soon have a fix for these- bidirectional charging tech offered by modern electric vehicles.
A proposed California bill aims to make bidirectional charging a requirement for all EVs sold in the state by 2027.
It supports the idea of EVs becoming energy assets during California's electric transition.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, however, opposes the bill, citing costs and technological limitations involved.
Additional hardware is required for enabling this tech, such as inverters and switches.
Battery life and warranties are also to be considered in the implementation.
Bidirectional charging allows electric vehicles (EVs) to supply power to households and other appliances- Vehicle to Load discharge (V2L).
Some EV models like the Nissan Leaf, Kia EV 6, and Ford F-150 Lightning already offer this tech.
A guy named Chris Bowe had recently used his electric Ford F-150 Lightning to power his house during a blackout in Hayward, California.
Ford offers an all-in-one package for bidirectional charging, but it comes at a high cost.
Traditional solutions to outages rely on fossil fuels, which exacerbate the underlying issues.
Senate Bill 233 advocates for using EV batteries to enhance energy resilience and grid reliability.
Vehicle-to-grid integration allows EV owners to sell stored power to utilities during peak demand.
Interconnection and pricing frameworks need to be established for selling electricity back to the grid.
SB 233 is seen as a starting point to enable bidirectional capacity in vehicles and unlock the potential of this technology.