PG&E partners with BMW on pilot program to study electric vehicle charging
Automaker BMW and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) are teaming up for the second phase of a pilot program that will test the impact electric vehicles have on the grid by integrating renewable energy through smart charging.
The first phase of the BMW ChargeForward program allowed 100 households with BMW i3s in the San Francisco Bay area to earn incentives by offering flexibility in charging their electric vehicles.
As a result, BMW developed multiple solutions for utilizing existing vehicle communication systems in order to improve reliability of the energy grid and improve value for customers. This type of demand response program is crucial for lowering costs, helping the environment by cutting usage during peak demand periods, and improving overall product reliability.
Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s vice president of Customer Energy Solutions said, “We have more than 100,000 electric vehicles in PG&E’s service area of Northern and Central California. Through this pilot with BMW, we’ve learned that these drivers present a growing resource that want to be part of building our clean energy future.”
A total of 92 percent of participants in phase one reported being very satisfied with the pilot and 86 percent would recommend participation to family members or friends.
In phase two of the 24-month pilot, BMW will manage the charging of selected vehicles both at home and on-the-go with the goal being to support renewable energy integration through smart charging.
Phase two will utilize BMW ConnectedDrive in order to request smart charging as needed. This type of communication enables connectivity between cars, drivers and their surroundings all at the touch of an app.
In general, participants will provide BMW some control over when their vehicle’s charge time, enabling the car to start charging whenever an optimal energy grid is found.
