In particular, it is a cluster of homes in Pecan Street where OnStar and GM have located a 50 Chevy Volt owners, making it the ideal test bed for the experiment - unsurprisingly, it is the largest cluster of Chevy Volts throughout the United States. According to the Statesman, OnStar had been forced to limit its experiments to labs until it discovered this real-world perfect storm of Chevy Volt owners.
The aim of the experiment is to see how realistic it would be in the future, when there are many more EVs on the road than there are today, to see if it is viable to have fleets of EVs returning power to the grid. EV batteries could be drawn upon by a single home owner, in a fleet by a power supplier to help supplement demand during peak use.
For people subject to time of use rates, but who also have solar panels installed, the idea could prove fruitful. In one potential scenario, they could charge their car in when power is cheaper and then draw power back from the EV combined with solar power during off-peak times.
OnStar is also looking at ways in which it could work with grid managers to find ways in which it could coordinate EV charging and the resupply of power to the grid as needed. It could also work with grid managers to advise owners when it is the best time to charge their vehicle during periods of peak demand to take stress of the grid.
If EV owners start to find ways to use their vehicles to help save them on electricity costs as well as fuel, it might be another incentive for people to adopt EVs sooner, rather than later.
