Inauguration of the FCA/Terna/ENGIE V2G pilot project

We have been covering the joint Fiat Chrysler/Terna/ENGIE V2G project in Milan for the past year or so. Yesterday the first stage of the project was inaugurated during an on site press conference. According to the Terna press release:

Today at the headquarters of the Heritage Hub within FCA’s Mirafiori industrial district in Turin, FCA, Engie Eps and Terna presented the Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric-mobility pilot project, which will be the largest in the world once completed.

The V2G installation, located in the Drosso logistics area, was inaugurated during an international conference in the presence of the Minister of Economic Development, Stefano Patuanelli, the Mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino and the President of the Piedmont region, Alberto Cirio, along with numerous other institutional guests and journalists from Italy and around the world, with a demonstration of its features and operating methods.

The V2G plant at Mirafiori is a project “100% made in Italy”. On the one hand, it is a significant opportunity for the Italian industrial system to take a leading role in the development of the future of sustainable mobility. On the other, it is the result of the joint effort of three companies that lead their sectors. In their use of such an innovative technology, their experiments are now beginning on a bidirectional charging solution that benefits from physical aggregation in a single point of interconnection with the power grid, capable of interacting with the other energy resources on site.

According to the Engie press release:

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Hurricane Sally Heads for Louisiana

Louisiana still hasn’t recovered from the damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Laura last month. Here’s how the state’s power outage map looks this morning (UTC):

Now yet another storm is heading for the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Sally is forecast to increase in strength to hurricane force before crossing the coast further to the east than Laura:

According to the National Hurricane Center:

CENTER LOCATED NEAR 28.2N  86.2W AT 14/0300Z
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE  996 MB
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS  50 KT WITH GUSTS TO  60 KT.

FORECAST VALID 14/1200Z 28.6N  87.3W
MAX WIND  60 KT...GUSTS  75 KT.

FORECAST VALID 15/0000Z 29.0N  88.3W
MAX WIND  70 KT...GUSTS  85 KT.

FORECAST VALID 15/1200Z 29.4N  89.0W
MAX WIND  80 KT...GUSTS 100 KT.

FORECAST VALID 16/0000Z 30.3N  89.4W...INLAND
MAX WIND  70 KT...GUSTS  85 KT.

[Edit – September 16th 10:00]

Hurricane Sally is currently making landfall further east than originally forecast:

Here’s the NHC’s current forecast track for Sally:

and their latest estimate of Sally’s strength:

NOAA buoy 42012, located about 50 miles southeast of Mobile, 
Alabama, recently reported a sustained wind of 71 mph (115 km/h) and 
a pressure of 970.9 mb inside the eastern portion of Sally's eye.

SUMMARY OF 300 AM CDT...0800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...30.0N 87.8W
ABOUT 50 MI...75 KM SW OF PENSACOLA FLORIDA
ABOUT 55 MI...85 KM SE OF MOBILE ALABAMA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...105 MPH...165 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 020 DEGREES AT 3 MPH...5 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...965 MB...28.50 INCHES

So far Alabama has suffered the most, with almost 200,000 power cuts currently.

The Future of Vehicle to Grid EV Charging?

Our title for today is shamelessly plagiarised from an article of the same name on the Electric Nation web site, which begins as follows:

By 2050, up to 45% of households will actively provide Vehicle to Grid (V2G) services, according to National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios, published in July 2020. But will the average Electric Vehicle (EV) driver be able to use V2G charging over the next few years?

A very good question and a very interesting infographic! The article continues:

The rapid growth in the numbers of electric vehicles on our roads will mean more demand on local electricity networks if EVs are all plugged in at the same time, such as during the peak between 5pm and 7pm in the evening. Smart charging, or ‘V1G’, which allows management of the time when EV charging occurs – as trialled by the original Electric Nation project – will help to avoid this situation.

V2G charging will be more effective than smart charging. This is due to the ability to link EVs together and put significant levels of energy back into the grid at peak times, like a huge decentralised power station. V2G will therefore help to reduce the grid’s need for additional energy generation, typically supplied by fossil fuels at peak times, as well as reducing demand on electricity networks, and allowing EV drivers to use greener and cheaper electricity.

So far so good, I agree entirely. However the next paragraph states:

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California ISO Anticipates Another Weekend Heatwave

Following the recent series of rolling blackouts in California, we got wind of this a couple of day ago via Twitter:

Our suspicions have since been confirmed:


Here is the current GFS forecast for 00:00 UTC on Sunday:

And here is CAISO’s forecast demand for today:

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