Testing EBL’s big and small power stations for lots (or a little) off-grid power on a budget

Portable power stations perform the same role as an old-fashioned gas-powered generator but in a cleaner and safer way. They have an on-board battery matched with an inverter to provide silent, clean, and exhaust-free electricity anywhere you can carry them. With so many options available these days, the trickiest part can be just choosing the right size. Having recently tested two of EBL’s power stations side by side (the EBL Voyager 1000 and EBL Voyager 330), I had the chance to see how and where I might fit different-sized power stations into my life.

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Source: Charge Forward

PG&E and Tesla to create giant “distributed battery” to support the electric grid

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Tesla have launched a pilot program that will combine thousands of Powerwall home battery systems to create a “virtual power plant” or “distributed battery.” Tesla has invited some 25,000 PG&E customers with Powerwalls to join the program.

PG&E residential customers are eligible for the program if they own a Tesla Powerwall, have an interconnection agreement with PG&E, and are not enrolled in other demand response programs.

Through the collaboration, Tesla will participate in PG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP) pilot by combining residential Powerwalls into a virtual power plant to discharge power back to the California grid during times of high electricity demand. Participating customers will receive $2 for every incremental kilowatt-hour of electricity their Powerwall discharges during an event. They can use the Tesla app to set their backup power needs or to opt out of a particular event, as necessary.

“VPPs are a valuable resource for supporting grid reliability and an essential part of California’s clean energy future,” said PG&E’s Aaron August, VP of Business Development & Customer Engagement. “Our customers’ home batteries offer a unique resource that can positively contribute to our state’s electric grid and will become more significant as our customers continue to adopt clean energy technology. In collaborating with Tesla, we are further integrating behind-the-meter battery-based VPPs on the largest scale yet, helping to make customer resiliency technologies more accessible.”

“Enabling Powerwall customers to support the grid and their community is a necessary and important part of accelerating the transition to sustainable energy,” said Tesla’s Drew Baglino, Senior VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering. “We seek to partner with utilities and regulators everywhere to unlock the full potential of storage to bring more renewable, resilient, and less costly electricity to everyone.”

Tesla deploys cube lounges at Supercharger station with automated coffee, food, and more

Tesla has deployed large cube lounges at a Supercharger station in Germany that is equipped with automated vending machines for coffee, food, and more.

The new partnership with bk World to deploy these lounges could reshape Tesla’s Supercharger networks in regions where it is more challenging to deploy charging stations near amenities.

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Source: Charge Forward

FREYR Battery to build gigafactory in Norway

FREYR Battery is replacing its plan to build two gigafactories with a plan to build a single gigafactory which increases capacity by 150%. The estimated construction cost will be $1.7 billion. “FREYR is increasing the nameplate capacity of Giga Arctic to 29 GWh in response to improving battery supply-demand dynamics, ongoing commercial success, significant progress in developing supply chain channels for key raw materials and equipment, continued technical and product improvements and project financing visibility,” the company says.

Giga Arctic will be built in Mo I Rana, Norway, and will consist of eight production lines, a battery testing center, administrative facilities and infrastructure. “Giga Arctic is expected to be one of the largest and most efficient battery facilities in Europe, with 50% lower anticipated capital spending per GWh of nameplate capacity and more than 200% higher production per employee than conventional lithium-ion battery plants in production today,” according to the company.

“These expected efficiencies are aided by FREYR’s recently announced long-term power purchase agreement with Statkraft,” says the company. “Giga Arctic is expected to benefit from 100% renewable energy at prices that FREYR estimates to be substantially below those of other battery-producing regions, while using less energy in production through the 24M Technologies SemiSolid cell manufacturing process and platform.”

The company plans to contract about 50% of Giga Arctic’s capacity to long-term offtake partners, has reached an offtake agreement with a European energy technology customer for 25 GWh of cells from 2024 to 2028, and has entered conditional offtake agreements for another 100 GWh.

FREYR is also assessing the possibilities of module and pack manufacturing and recycling for the facility as well as a proposed joint venture with battery materials company Aleees on a LFP cathode materials manufacturing plant in the Nordic region.

Nuvve and San Diego Gas & Electric launch Electric School Bus V2G project

Vehicle-to-grid specialist Nuvve (Nasdaq: NVVE) is working with San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to support local school districts by pairing Nuvve’s V2G technology with the utility’s Emergency Load Reduction Program (ELRP).

Through this partnership, electric school bus fleets equipped with V2G charging through Nuvve’s GIVe platform can provide energy back to the grid during emergency load reduction events, allowing customers to participate in energy conservation efforts and get paid for their load reduction results.

“Nuvve’s powerful energy aggregator provides a great revenue-generating opportunity to customers, while also guaranteeing that EVs will always be properly charged and ready to drive for school routes,” said Gregory Poilasne, co-founder and CEO of Nuvve. “Electric school buses offer a natural and compelling bidirectional charging solution from their batteries, which [have] a substantial amount of energy storage capacity. While the buses are plugged in and not being driven, they can be helping the grid when energy demand rates are typically at their highest.”

SDG&E’s Emergency Load Reduction Program allows business customers to voluntarily reduce peak energy load by sending energy back to the grid. Combined with Nuvve’s V2G technology, qualifying SDG&E customers can participate in ELRP and receive $2 per kWh for verified load reduction. This revenue can help school districts to offset the cost of their electric fleet conversions.

School districts within SDG&E’s service territory interested in school bus electrification can contact Nuvve to get the process started.

New Jersey to expand commercial EV voucher program

The Garden State is expanding its New Jersey Zero Emission Incentive Program (NJ ZIP) to support businesses and institutions that are purchasing zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) recently decided to double the amount of funding dedicated to the program, to $45 million; to expand the program statewide, beyond the four pilot communities; and to expand eligibility to include heavy-duty vehicle classes.

As of last month, the NJEDA had approved 144 NJ ZIP applications totaling $32.2 million in vouchers for zero-emission medium-duty vehicles. The NJEDA anticipates that the expansion of the program will allow 200-400 additional vouchers to be awarded. Over 90 percent of the entities approved to date are small businesses, and approximately 57 percent are minority- and/or woman-owned.

“Over 40 percent of New Jersey’s carbon emissions are produced by vehicles, so helping small businesses make the transition to zero-emission technology is a key step toward accelerating Governor Phil Murphy’s efforts to improve air quality and create economic opportunity within the state,” said NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan. “Small businesses participating in the program are poised to reap the benefits of electric vehicle ownership by modernizing their fleets with environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art vehicles that not only reduce fuel costs and require less maintenance but mitigate the harmful environmental impacts of transportation emissions.”

ENAT Transportation & Logistics, one of the first NJ ZIP awardees to receive its vehicles, is on its way to transitioning its entire commercial fleet to electric vehicles within the next five years. “NJ ZIP is a fantastic resource for small businesses like mine to afford transitioning to an electric fleet as we strive to reduce our carbon footprint,” said ENAT co-owner Vanessa Abad. “The additional $40,000 in bonuses we received for being a minority and women-owned small business has allowed us to compete with other transportation companies in an industry that has traditionally been operated by men.”

The NJEDA anticipates opening applications for NJ ZIP awards, including those for businesses in newly eligible parts of the state, in the coming months. Vouchers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.