California EVs Could Supply 9 GW of Grid Power: Report
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- GridLab, Kevala, and Energy and Environmental Economics released a report finding that just 10% of California's projected EVs enrolled in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs by 2036 could supply roughly 9 GW of power for 12 hours — totaling 108 GWh of storage.
- That 108 GWh figure would meet more than one-third of California's long-duration energy storage target for 2036, according to the report "Unlocking California's Flexible Load."
- The report argues EVs, home batteries, smart thermostats, water heaters, and commercial buildings could collectively help California manage demand without relying entirely on new power plants, grid-scale batteries, or expensive grid upgrades.
- California's demand-flexibility programs currently have different rules, payment structures, and enrollment requirements across utilities — a fragmentation the report identifies as the core barrier to scaling V2G participation.
- The report recommends standardized program designs, common technical requirements, and payments tied to verified grid performance rather than flat enrollment fees, plus an affordability guardrail that pays participants less than the utility's avoided cost.
- A 2024 study by GridLab and The Brattle Group found that virtual power plants using existing technologies could meet more than 15% of California's peak electricity demand and save utilities and customers $550 million annually — figures the new report calls modeled potential, not realized savings.
- The California Energy Commission says automated load flexibility alone can reduce the need for more expensive grid infrastructure while helping match electricity use with renewable generation.
Why it matters: California is sitting on enough EV battery capacity to meet a third of its long-duration storage mandate — but fragmentation across utility programs is keeping that resource offline. Standardizing enrollment rules and tying payments to verified grid performance could let the state sidestep billions in new power-plant and battery buildout, though participants would be paid below avoided cost to protect non-EV-owning ratepayers from cost-shifting.
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