About the Topic

If you mention rapidly increasing EV adoption to a utility grid engineer, you might receive a mixed reaction. On one hand, said engineer might be understandably apprehensive; EV charging, if unmanaged, can increase loads on already stressed infrastructure. However, EVs can also present an interesting opportunity for the grid. As a mobile battery, these vehicles can potentially play a role in increasing grid reliability, feeding back into the grid during high stress periods, and providing resiliency for homeowners, workplaces, and other facilities during outages.

Even in the very early years of EV adoption, many began exploring pilots for vehicles to feed back into the grid. As far back as 2014, in partnership with the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, the Los Angeles Air Force piloted how a fleet of EVs could provide grid resiliency. Now, more and more bidirectional-ready vehicles and EV charging equipment enter the market. As a result, utilities and other market players must come to a consensus on what types of equipment and standards make sense in the space. This consensus broadly revolves around where to place inverters—in the vehicle or charging equipment—and grid connection, safety, and communication protocols.

Vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, is the overarching phrase that refers to the power flow between a vehicle and other entities. This can be the home (V2H), a building (V2G), the electrical grid (V2G), and a variety of other destinations. Early pilots had indicated, while bidirectional power flow has opportunities to increase grid resiliency and stability, it also increases complexity—it is not as simple as plugging in your car and instantly feeding back to the grid.

In this Event, PG&E and Xcel Energy will discuss what types of V2X pilots they are running, what hardware is involved, how they developed said pilots, and more. VGIC will discuss perspective from the EV charging industry—including discussion on recent V2X innovations, drivers and challenges in the bidirectional charging space, and the web of standards.

About the Audience

This Event will be of value to a number of utility teams. Distribution engineers will benefit from understanding how V2X technologies can impact grid operations and how to integrate these systems into the existing distribution infrastructure. Grid operations teams can learn about the implications of V2X on grid management, load balancing, and overall grid performance. Regulatory affairs professionals will benefit from gaining a further understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks governing the deployment of V2X systems. Additionally, any members of electric vehicle teams or innovation teams will find value.

About the Speakers

Pacific Gas & Electric: Kristin Landry serves as and Expert Product Manager for PG&E. She is a subject matter expert at the intersection of EVs and distribution grid interconnection. Kristin’s role involves leading partnerships and establishing large scale pilot programs that demonstrate the value of bidirectional electric vehicle charging for grid reliability, resiliency, sustainability, and economic benefits. Prior to joining PG&E, Kristin worked as a Senior Regulatory Analyst at the California Public Utilities Commission and as a Managing Consultant studying emerging areas of interest for utilities and their regulators at Guidehouse, among other roles. In this Event, she will discuss PG&E’s Ford V2H pilot program and other programming PG&E is doing in the V2X space.

Xcel Energy: Josh Ingalls and Ryan Austin serve as an Advanced Grid, Clean Energy, and EV Product Developer and Regulatory Policy Specialist respectively. Their roles involve coordinating across multiple departments, industries, and markets to ensure the EV, V2X, and DER spaces grow successfully within a diverse 8-state territory. They work with fleets, trade partners, OEMs, regulators, and EV drivers to address the critical challenges, solutions, and adaptations required for an effective clean-energy transformation. Both have extensive experience in the EV charging space, including having worked at Sunrun. They will speak to Xcel Energy’s V2X pilots.

Vehicle Grid Integration Council: Zach Woogen serves as Interim Executive Director at Vehicle Grid Integration Council (VGIC), a national 501(c)(6) membership-based advocacy group committed to advancing the role of electric vehicles and smart EV charging through policy development, education, outreach, and research. He has been involved with the organization for over four years, along with working at energy transformation consultancy, Strategen, for several years. Zach will provide perspective on V2X from the vantage point of charging innovators and auto OEM members, along with discussing standards.