Sunrun, the country’s largest solar energy company, says it’s now operating the first vehicle-to-home power plant in the US, using Ford F-150 Lightning vehicles. The program is small: Only three customers of Maryland’s Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) are using their vehicle, plus a Ford Charge Station Pro and a Home Integration System, to send electricity to and from the car’s EV battery array.
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But it could be an indicator of what’s to come as the idea of using bidirectional charging to avoid blackouts and help ease the strain on electrical grids across the country starts to become a reality. The idea of using an EV’s battery when it’s not in use to send power back to a home could also be part of a larger concept called “virtual power plants,” in which solar panel batteries, vehicles, and renewable energy from other sources could all be smartly utilized to serve enough energy to meet demand.
Already this summer, we’ve seen California avoid a widespread electricity crisis during a recent heat wave by adding battery capacity and using batteries in customer homes.
The Sunrun program, which the company calls “the first operational bidirectional electric vehicle power plant in the United States that uses a cohort of customer vehicles” is a proof of concept, but it could spread. It came about through a US Department of Energy grant awarded to BGE.
Read more: What If Your EV Could Power Your Home During a Blackout?
Some EV owners already have a home battery installed, which can store energy generated from solar panels and power their home and vehicle and even send power back to the grid. That’s not too far off from what Sunrun and BGE are doing, except electricity can go in both directions, charging the truck when needed but also bringing power back into the home directly from the truck’s batteries when it’s not in use.
The Ford F-150 Lightning retails for around $73,000 and is listed among CNET’s top EVs. A Ford Charge Station Pro sells for about $1,310 and a Home Integration System purchased through Sunrun costs about $3,785, not including installation fees or home electrical upgrades that may be required.
