WASHINGTON D.C.--Google is developing "smart charging" software to ensure that plug-in electric vehicles don't cause traffic jams on the power grid.
The search giant is researching a number of energy-related technologies, including car charging software, where IT and "ET," or energy technology, meet, said Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org.
One of its projects, still in the experimental phase, is writing software to better manage when plug-in electric cars are charged, Reicher said at the Kema Utility of the Future conference here Thursday.
Google co-founders Sergey Brin (left) and Larry Page plug in a RechargeIT car in 2007.
(Credit: Google)There is some concern that millions of plug-in electric vehicles charging at the peak times, such as around 5:30 p.m. when people return from work, could cause power disruptions or require construction of new power plants.
To address this, Google has written software with "vehicle dispatch algorithms" that can decide how to best charge cars, Reicher said. In addition to smoothing out the load on the grid, smart charging makes it easier to take advantage of solar and wind power, which are variable sources of electricity.
The software is also designed to simplify matters for grid operators. To maintain a steady frequency on transmission wires, utilities typically call on power generators to increase or decrease the flow of electricity to match the demand, Reicher explained after his talk.
With Google's smart-charging software, the plug-in electric vehicles could effectively fill that "grid regulation" role, Reicher said.
"You can tell the power generators to power up or you can tell 250 cars to stop charging. It's exactly the same difference," he said. "It could be that the car charges for two minutes and then goes off--whatever is most effective."
Google now operates a fleet of plug-in hybrid cars--converted Toyota Priuses and Ford Escapes--at its corporate headquarters, where it gathers data on their mileage performance.
Like other companies, it has looked into vehicle-to-grid technology through which electric vehicles' batteries would feed stored electricity to utilities during peak times. That technology remains experimental.
By contrast, Reicher said, smart charging is a simple, one-way grid-to-car connection, rather than a two-way communication link between the car and grid. And smart-charging software can be implemented in the near and medium term, he said.
"This is just good software meets good hardware. This doesn't have to be rocket science, and we can do it without having to put the grid at risk or change a lot of things," he said.
One of the people taking part in the project is renewable-energy engineer Alec Brooks, who worked on Tesla Motors' grid-to-vehicle strategy before joining Google about a year ago.
Energy R&D at Google
Smart charging is seen as an important conduit to widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles. Although there aren't yet large numbers of mass-produced plug-in electric cars, the auto industry is expecting to start releasing mainstream electric vehicles in the next year.
Other companies are already working on smart-charging tools. Smart-grid company GridPoint last year acquired V2Green and tested its grid-to-vehicle software with General Motors' Chevy Volt. The software can speed up or slow down car battery charge times and provide information to utilities to help manage fluctuations in load.
Solar panels on carport roofs at Google's headquarters.
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