Electric Cars To Protect Power Grid
CANBERRA: A fleet of electric cars will be hooked up to Australia’s biggest power grid to help protect it against blackouts and voltage fluctuations.
The ACT Government is providing 50 Nissan Leaf vehicles, while Canberra-based utility ActewAGL will provide more.
The Nissans sport two-way batteries, meaning they can be charged from the grid, but also provide power if needed.
Widespread blackouts in South Australia in 2016, when a storm damaged ageing electricity towers, led the State to build the world’s biggest battery to support the grid during crises.
The ACT project’s research leader, Bjorn Sturmberg, said the trial would assess how well a car fleet can balance supply and demand across the network.
“When electric cars are plugged in, they could be called on in a heartbeat to avoid a mass power outage,” Sturmberg said.