Cars That Power the Grid

Cars That Power the Grid

Posted: February 17, 2011

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: So is the future of driving one where everyone has an electric car?

ERIC LIGHTNER:Yeah, eventually I believe that will be the case.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: An electric car like this?

ERIC LIGHTNER: Well, maybe not one exactly like this Tesla, though.

NARRATOR: In 2006 Tesla came out with their Roadster, a lightning-fast electric sports car, with a pricetag to match. But it wasn't until 2010 that other automakers joined the pack. Nissan came out with the affordable Leaf, and many more electric cars are headed to market. No one knows if these cars will become common, but if they do, they could revolutionize the grid. Professor Willett Kempton at the University of Delaware is developing a really smart electric car that doesn't only take electrons off the grid; it can also give them back.

WILLETT KEMPTON: This control box right here that says V2G on it, vehicle to grid, allows the battery in this vehicle to be used for regulating the power on the electric system.

NARRATOR: The control box is in constant contact with the grid. It can stop charging when the grid is stressed. It can even discharge when the grid needs extra power.

WILLETT KEMPTON: When I use this control system to discharge the battery onto the local electric system, I can run my whole block. I can run twelve houses with all their appliances. A hundred cars like this is equivalent to a one-megawatt power plant.

NARRATOR: These cars can also solve a complex problem, the fickle nature of wind and solar power.

WILLETT KEMPTON: Those are great clean sources of electricity, but the problem is that they fluctuate. Some times there's more than you need sometimes there's not as much.

NARRATOR: When there's more wind or solar power than the grid can use, these intelligent cars know just what to do.

WILLETT KEMPTON: The box responds by telling the battery to charge extra fast when there's excess wind or solar. So it's an easy-to-use storage device it can be used to support renewable energy.

Produced for NOVA by

Terri Randall

Edited by

Jedd Ehrmann

Senior Produced by

Julia Cort

Narrated by

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Animation by

David Margolies

Special Thanks

Tesla Motors