Independent energy provider Ovo and Nissan – the giant Japanese car manufacturer – have announced their plan to launch Britain’s first vehicle-to-grid service for electric car owners in January 2018.
The first of its kind in the UK, this will combine VNet – Ovo’s intelligent energy technology – with the Nissan xStorage Home system.
Customers with solar households will soon be able to purchase an xStorage Home system direct from Oov for £4,800 and benefit from a £350 annual credit and estimated average £240 savings on their energy bill.
The two companies will also launch a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) service for private customers buying the new Nissan LEAF BPV (battery powered vehicle) – which will also allow customers to sell energy back to the grid at peak times.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive of OVO Energy, said: “BPVs are fast becoming a mainstream option for drivers and solve many of the challenges facing our cities. We believe that they have an integral part to play in the 21st century power grid and accelerating decarbonisation and mobility.
Ovo’s V2G service will let Nissan BPV owners connect to the grid to re-charge their cars at low-demand, cheap tariff periods. They can then use the electricity stored in the vehicle’s battery at home and at work when costs are higher, or even feed electricity back to the grid which could generate revenue for the BPV owner.
Ovo plans to create special tariffs to reward customers for this interaction with the grid.
Currently if all 20,000 Nissan BPVs in the UK were connected to the energy network, Ovo estimate that they would generate the equivalent output of a 200 MW power plant with a 10kW charger.
5 Oct 2017
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy