Electric vehicle drivers will have the option to charge their vehicles with electricity synchronised with output from a wind turbine, using what Vestas claims is a first-of-a-kind storage system that enables green choices even when the grid is still dominated by fossil power.

The Danish wind giant will join service station operator OK to site a battery to power an EV charging point near Odense, in a trial the partners say could lead to widescale deployment.

Using custom-developed software, the 1MW/650kWh battery – which is connected to the grid – will charge at a rate that precisely mirrors power production at a 3MW Vestas wind turbine operated by OK 100km away.

Vestas vice president for storage and energy solutions, Lars Christian Christensen, told Recharge the system could be seen as a highly-targeted, real-time offsetting system that allows consumers to make a green choice even in markets where renewable penetration of the grid is low, as well as aiding balancing of the network, without the need to have a wind turbine located by every EV station for direct connection.

Matching the battery and EV charge point exactly to a specific turbine means drivers can be sure their power is “as green as it can get” even when the share of wind is low. “You’re getting your renewable power in real-time.”

The Odense high-power charging station trial – which will give drivers the choice between the ‘wind option’ from the battery or power directly from the grid – will allow Vestas to test the technology, and OK to explore consumer reaction and pricing, Christensen said.

“You could even have a picture [at point of sale] of a specific turbine that is synchronised with that storage unit.”

The battery is “oversized” for what’s required, and will allow the partners to assess the optimum storage deployment needed to meet demand, he added. Other issues that need to be explored include remunerating the various asset owners in the process.

Christensen said among the key technical challenges in development of the system was synchronising the battery charging with turbine output. “Because they’re not co-located there is a latency that has to be brought down to as close to zero as possible,” he said.

If the trial goes well, the system could be rolled out further in renewable-rich Denmark, as well as other nations where the green share of total power is far lower.

Vestas is in the process of switching its corporate vehicles to an all-electric fleet, and could have the option to deploy a similar system at its own facilities, Christensen said.

The wind OEM’s work on the system is “as far as he is aware” the first of its kind anywhere, not least because of the software solution needed for synchronisation, added the Vestas executive.

The Vestas/OK trial is part of a wider push by industry and governments to gear up EV charging networks for a future in which far more vehicles are using them, and the demand for intermittent renewable electricity is far higher.

Utility Vattenfall, for example, has rolled out a system that matches recharging to fluctuations in supply and demand levels on the grid, with a view to helping grid stability when more intermittent renewables come onstream.

Wind

Vestas trials 'first of a kind' EV charging that mirrors wind turbine