Despite calls this summer for EV owners to refrain from charging during peak hours to ease the pressure on the grid. But with the growing popularity of electric vehicles, we may also want to think about EVs delivering energy in the opposite direction to help the grid easily regulate peaks in the future. This article introduces Nissan’s first Vehicle-to-Grid adapter for LEAF owners.
(From: Nissan official website)
As the name implies, the V2G adapter allows vehicle owners to sell surplus electricity back to the grid. Although Nissan is not the first to do so, this move has a greater symbolic significance.
"For owners with home chargers, they can meet their daily commuting needs while taking advantage of the nighttime valley power to fully charge their vehicles and then feed some of that energy back to the grid during the day. The result is a win-win situation - EV owners earn the difference between peak and valley power, and the grid reduces the cost of utility coverage during peak hours."
The Nissan Leaf was reportedly first introduced to the market in 2010. Despite some ups and downs in the industry, the Nissan Leaf was the best-selling EV model in the European market in the first half of 2018 with 37,000 orders / 18,000 deliveries.
For reference, the Ford F-150 Lighting and Mustang Mache-e only reached 32,607 sales in August 2022 – and the Nissan Leaf was a full era ahead.
While the Nissan Leaf is not as hot as it once was in a highly competitive market, the car actually has an intensive that has been hidden for years — all Nissan Leafs since 2013, have the two-way charging capability.
Unfortunately, until then, the U.S. market has lacked charging units that could take advantage of this feature. The good news is that Nissan is finally offering a V2G power adapter option for LEAF owners today.
"The company announced Wednesday that it is offering the first V2G chargers to LEAF owners. In partnership with Fermata Energy, owners will be able to sell surplus power to the grid with the FE-15 two-way power adapter. This can be easily accomplished by simply parking the car and plugging in the FE-15. It's also worth noting that the Nissan Leaf is the only all-electric passenger car on the U.S. market today that can supply energy to the grid."
Electrek notes that V2G technology makes the Nissan LEAF ideal for both commercial and residential customers. In addition to individual vehicle owners, businesses can use Fermata Energy’s energy demand management application to power their buildings during peak times.
The service monitors electricity consumption in the office and calls on backup V2G energy when electricity prices are high.
