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FORD JOINS THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANT PARTNERSHIP AS A FOUNDING MEMBER TO SUPPORT GRID RESILIENCY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS

JAN 10, 2023 | DEARBORN

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 10, 2023 – On Tuesday, Ford announced the formation of the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3), a coalition led by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) aimed to scale the market for virtual power plants to help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonization and support grid resiliency.

VP3 includes founding members Ford, General Motors, Google Nest, OhmConnect, Olivine, SPAN, SunPower, Sunrun, SwitchDin, and Virtual Peaker.

"Electric vehicles are introducing entirely new opportunities for consumers and businesses alike, creating a greater need for sustainable energy solutions to responsibly power our connected lifestyles," said Bill Crider, head of global charging and energy services, Ford Motor Company. "Supporting grid stability through the introduction of technologies like Intelligent Backup Power is central to Ford's strategy, and collaborating to advance virtual power plants will be another important step to ensure a smooth transition to an EV lifestyle."


The full press release from RMI is below:

RMI Launches “Virtual Power Plant Partnership” With Support from General Motors & Google Nest
The “VP3” Initiative will Help Catalyze Potential for Rapid Growth of Virtual Power Plants

Boulder, CO – January 10, 2023

RMI, a leading nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the global energy transformation, announced the formation of the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3) Tuesday. In recognition of the critical work needed to tackle scaling the market for virtual power plants, initial funding of the VP3 effort was made possible by General Motors and Google Nest. Today, VP3 includes founding members Ford, General Motors, Google Nest, OhmConnect, Olivine, SPAN, SunPower, Sunrun, SwitchDin, and Virtual Peaker.

VP3 is an initiative based at RMI that works to catalyze industry and transform policy to support scaling VPPs in ways that help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonization by overcoming barriers to VPP market growth. Virtual power plants are portfolios comprised of hundreds or thousands of households and businesses that offer the latent potential of their electric vehicles (EVs), smart thermostats, appliances, batteries, solar arrays, and additional energy assets to support the grid. VP3 follows in the path of successful institutional spinoffs in the electric sector space previously incubated by RMI including the Clean Energy Buyers Association and the Energy Web Foundation.

“Virtual power plants are poised for explosive growth, and RMI is committed to being at the forefront of their success by launching VP3,” said RMI CEO Jon Creyts. “Our analysis shows that VPPs can reduce peak power demand and improve grid resilience in a world of increasingly extreme climate events. A growing VPP market also means revenue opportunities for hardware, software, and energy-service companies in the buildings and automotive industries. For large energy users, VPPs can significantly reduce energy spend while providing new revenue streams.”

“The next 12 to 24 months are critical for policy and program development to seize the potential offered by virtual power plants, and VP3 is here to ensure that the energy transition doesn’t miss a beat,” said Mark Dyson, RMI Managing Director for Carbon-Free Electricity. “Policy change, customer and stakeholder education, and unilateral action by individual businesses or organizations all take time and resources. We’re excited to partner in this work with leading businesses in VPP-related sectors including electric vehicles, building controls, residential energy technologies, utility-facing software solutions, and more.”

More About VP3’s Goals:
With the guidance and support of its members, VP3 is working toward a future where businesses, households, and communities are empowered through VPPs which can help to support cost-effective energy, emissions reductions, and a more resilient electricity grid. To achieve this, VP3 will work to:

  1. Catalog, research, and communicate VPP benefits
  2. Develop industry-wide best practices, standards, and roadmaps
  3. Inform and shape policy development
Statements From Founding Members General Motors and Google Nest:
General Motors:


“Virtual power plants present an exciting opportunity to unlock additional value for homes, businesses and communities, helping to drive greater energy independence and grid decarbonization” said Mark Bole, GM VP and Head of V2X and Battery Solutions. “This collaboration underscores GM’s commitment to creating a more resilient grid, with EVs and virtual power plants playing a key role in helping to advance our all-electric future.”

Google Nest:

“We are thrilled to partner with RMI to scale Virtual Power Plants and bring their benefits to households and communities across the US,” said Parag Chokshi, Director, Nest Renew. “Google is committed to building a more sustainable future and continues to lead and encourage others to join us in improving the health of our planet. VP3 will empower individuals and businesses alike to strengthen and decarbonize their local grid with the goal of making energy more affordable for all. Because when we each do a little, it adds up to a lot.”

More About Virtual Power Plants:
A virtual power plant (VPP) aggregates and coordinates distributed energy resources to benefit all those who rely on the electric grid. It is comprised of hundreds or thousands of households and businesses that offer the latent potential of their electric vehicles (EVs), smart thermostats, appliances, batteries, and solar arrays to support the grid.

In a VPP, these decentralized distributed energy resources (DERs) are aggregated into a portfolio. Customers themselves or their authorized energy management companies — with customer permission and the help of advanced software — can adjust charging, discharging, output, and demand from DERs in response to signals from markets and grid operators. In this way, VPPs can play an important role in seamlessly and efficiently matching energy supply and demand.
Sponsored

 

dtbaker61

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I can't wait to see what Ford does to give access to the HV battery energy!

The most direct path would be revising the ChargePort, relays, and on-board charger to enable bi-directional current thru the DCFC connector and manage current flow and battery management to start/stop current.

The challenges for the other Partners will be more significant, particularly for the bi-directional charger hanging on the wall since it will need to include communication with a transfer switch to enable V2H current only when Grid is NOT up.
 

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Now, if only Ford would enable the Mach-E to have "Ford Intelligent Backup Power" I would love to have that on our Mach-E in case of power outages in Texas.
 

dtbaker61

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Now, if only Ford would enable the Mach-E to have "Ford Intelligent Backup Power" I would love to have that on our Mach-E in case of power outages in Texas.
You can EASILY Export *a little bit* of power (under 2000watts) from the Mach-e right now with a very easy and inexpensive mod:

- cut access holes to 12v connection points - 10 minutes - https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...n-points-hv-disconnect-relay-for-safety.4107/

- purchase a 1500w pure-sine inverter - $160 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078MW96M4

- purchase regular 12v 'jumper cables' , or use cables included with Inverter and add alligator clips

- you can connect everything in 2 minutes, turn on your MME, and run 'emergency loads' up to 1500watts for DAYS using your MME HV battery pack, which will keep the 12v battery and connection points energized.
 


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The most direct path would be revising the ChargePort, relays, and on-board charger to enable bi-directional current thru the DCFC connector and manage current flow and battery management to start/stop current.
Buckle up, HVBJB!
 

dtbaker61

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Buckle up, HVBJB!
Energy export from mme would be highly unlikely to affect the HVBJB because the typical loads of a house are tiny compared to driving or a normal dcfc session. Critical loads in a house might get up to 10 KW if several appliances are on at the same time. Driving on a flat level Highway requires about 20 kW just to maintain speed.
 

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Hmmm, Tesla seems conspicuously absent...
 

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You can EASILY Export *a little bit* of power (under 2000watts) from the Mach-e right now with a very easy and inexpensive mod:

- cut access holes to 12v connection points - 10 minutes - https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...n-points-hv-disconnect-relay-for-safety.4107/

- purchase a 1500w pure-sine inverter - $160 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078MW96M4

- purchase regular 12v 'jumper cables' , or use cables included with Inverter and add alligator clips

- you can connect everything in 2 minutes, turn on your MME, and run 'emergency loads' up to 1500watts for DAYS using your MME HV battery pack, which will keep the 12v battery and connection points energized.
Why under 2000 watts?
 

dtbaker61

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Why under 2000 watts?
Dcdc converter specs limit output to 160 amps as I recollect. If you add a battery in the middle it could buffer up higher peak loads, but the 160 amps would limit continuous draw.... so a 1500 watt inverter would be 'safe' and less expensive than a larger one.
 

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I remember how much attention this got back in the Hurricane Sandy era... only hybrid cars were around, such as gen 1 and gen 2 Priuses (Prii?) and several enterprising souls threw 2,000 Watt inverters in and hooked up their houses. When their gasoline ran low (after 2+ days) they just drove 2 counties inland and gassed up and...
 

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Nope. No thanks, hard pass.

Just another form of planned outages and rationing.

Just build enough power plants to support demand.

Nuclear energy. We figured out the solution decades ago.
 

dtbaker61

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Just build enough power plants to support demand.
with demand expected to double in the next 10 years, and Coal plants shutting down, we are going to need all the Power we can manage to install. Utility-size Solar & wind farms are part of the solution, but my opinion is we have HUGE untapped potential to contribute to the Grid with 'nano' Power plants... Solar on homes, businesses, and parking lots coupled with EVs as 'rolling storage' resulting in DEcentralized power that will be far more resilient and secure than what we have now. Yes, batteries are needed to stabilize the intermittent nature of Solar/Wind Energy.

Nuclear energy. We figured out the solution decades ago.
exactly. But, Nuclear is not a great choice for the future... Unless we can perfect the small Thorium reactors.

u-238 Nuclear Plants built decades ago are at the end of life. Re-construction would take YEARS, lots of concrete (worst building matl for environment), no safe coastal areas for cooling ponds since sea levels are rising, and we still don't have a solution for high-grade Nuclear waste, even after years of trying to find safe ways to get rid of it.

The source of Energy is a bit off-topic for this thread.... the more important thing is to recognize the role that EVs can have in providing Grid resiliency and Emergency support in case of Grid outages that are likely to become more common with severe weather.
 
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dtbaker61

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I remember how much attention this got back in the Hurricane Sandy era... only hybrid cars were around, such as gen 1 and gen 2 Priuses (Prii?) and several enterprising souls threw 2,000 Watt inverters in and hooked up their houses. When their gasoline ran low (after 2+ days) they just drove 2 counties inland and gassed up and...

exactly, your MME is a gigantic 'emergency generator' with less than $500 of added equipment.... which you get to use every day rather than buy a generator (for $3k-10k) that sits unused until there is an emergency.

it wouldn't run air-conditioning, but you could keep the lights on, boil water, etc.

210623 testing w frunk teapot.jpg
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