California Report Suggests EVs and Smart Home Devices Could Provide 9 GW of Grid Power
A new report, titled 'Unlocking California’s Flexible Load: A Durable Blueprint for Affordability and Reliability,' indicates that electric vehicles (EVs), home batteries, smart thermostats, water heaters, and commercial buildings could significantly contribute to California's electricity grid management. The study, conducted by GridLab, Kevala, and Energy and Environmental Economics, estimates that if just 10% of California's projected EVs participate in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs by 2036, they could supply approximately 9 gigawatts (GW) of power for 12 hours. This equates to 108 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage, fulfilling over one-third of the state's long-duration energy storage target for that year. V2G technology enables compatible EVs to send power back to the grid during peak demand and recharge when electricity is more abundant and cheaper. The primary challenge identified is the lack of standardized program designs, payment structures, and enrollment requirements across different utility compa... 
