At the seams of vehicle-grid integration, residential and commercial buildings with bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) chargers can unlock new value streams through a variety of applications. Attendees will learn about a recent pilot project, conducted by Roanoke Electric Cooperative, Fermata Energy and other clean energy organizations, that demonstrated the potential of this technology, quantifying the value of vehicle-to-building services using a 15-kW bidirectional charger made by Fermata. Roanoke Electric discharged the battery of its Nissan LEAF Plus (62 kWh) at its headquarters to help reduce behind-the-meter building costs through three use cases: load following, peak load reduction and backup generator support while the building was islanded. The combined value streams for Roanoke Electric — which came out to gross savings of more than $4,000 per year per charger — exceeded the monthly lease cost of the EV, showing that even a single vehicle with bidirectional charging can provide significant value, even in markets with low demand charges.
