Transport

US smart grid company GridPoint has announced two trials of its electric vehicle smart charging support software in Maryland and California.

The company plans to work with Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), a subsidiary of Constellation Energy, and the California Department of General Services (DGS) on two plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) demonstration projects.

The Baltimore trial will see five Toyota Priuses and a Ford Escape fitted with vehicle connectivity modules (VCMs) to provide two-way communication between the vehicle and GridPoint’s smart charging software.

The software allows users and utilities to manage the charging of electric vehicles, using renewable energy sources when available and prioritising recharging during off-peak times.

During the trial, BGE will monitor when and where drivers tend to recharge their vehicles and what effect vehicle charging has on peak load periods.

Meanwhile, DGS – with funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) – will test GridPoint’s data logging system, which captures and displays data from electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Reports provide real-time information on fuel economy, carbon emissions, distance travelled, charging location and times.

California’s DGS will use the technology to monitor 50 Toyota Priuses over two years to get an understanding of the performance of PHEVs in a range of conditions. The vehicles will be deployed across California as state fleet vehicles.

“With the information gathered during this trial, DGS will be well positioned to make recommendations for reducing greenhouse emissions and reliance on petroleum-based fuels across the state’s fleet of more than 50,000 vehicles,” says Kathy Hicks of DGS.

The DGS will share the information with the CEC, the California Air Resources Board, the University of California, Davis, and the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, as part of the state’s efforts to meet new transportation fuel emission reduction targets.

For further information:
www.bge.com
www.constellation.com
www.dgs.ca.gov/
www.energy.ca.gov/
www.gridpoint.com

Related stories:
Electric vehicle infrastructure powers ahead (27-Jan)
US energy companies to switch to hybrid or all-electric fleet (28-Sept 2009)
US EPA grants California waiver on vehicle emissions (1-Jul 2009)
Oncor and Ford join forces to test electric vehicles (15-May 2009)
California rules to reduce fuel emissions 10% by 2020 (27-Apr)