TVA Expands Renewable Energy and Solar Charging

The smart grid charging of electric cars with renewable energy advances. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Friday (ORNL) announced that they will deploy solar-assisted charging stations for electric vehicles across the state of Tennessee as part of one of the largest electric transportation projects in U.S. history.

Speaking at an event in Knoxville introducing the Nissan LEAF (NSANY), TVA Chief Executive Officer Tom Kilgore said that the first prototype charging station using solar-generated electricity will be tested at EPRI’s Laboratories for Electric Transportation Application in Knoxville this spring, possibly near the University of Tennessee campus where many electric car enthusiasts may live in multi-unit dwellings where garage charging is not available.

Modular solar charging stations can start with the charging of four cars and expand to over 10 electric cars and may be part of future fueling stations. Both stations and Nissan LEAFs will use J1772 smart charging communication.

This regional electric vehicle initiative is being done in conjunction with ETEC, which has received $100 million matching funding from DOE to install over 12,500 electric charging stations nationwide and a smart grid infrastructure.

The solar-assisted charging stations will use the sun to generate power needed to offset the charge of the electric vehicles during peak power demand periods. While vehicles are charging, the stationary batteries and smart grid controls will provide additional localized support to mitigate any impacts on the power system.

The TVA Fact Sheet also discusses re-use of automotive lithium batteries stating, “Stationary battery storage will provide additional localized grid support to mitigate the impacts of charging multiple vehicles in one centralized location. Stationary storage will also provide future opportunities to re-use automotive batteries that are no longer ideal for vehicles. These batteries may have 60 to 70 percent life left in them and can be used to support the power grid.”

Over 5 GW Renewable Energy

The Tennessee Valley Authority is moving closer to its goal of having more than 50 percent of its power generation from renewable energy by continuing to add solar and wind energy.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) with Iberdrola Renewables (IRVSF), will deliver up to 300 megawatts from the Streator Cayuga Ridge project in Illinois, starting in mid-2010. This 300MW PPA is the largest PPA to date for Iberdrola, the world leader in wind farm assets with over 10GW of wind power and 54GW of additional RE power in its pipeline.

With the new contracts, TVA has purchased up to 1,265 megawatts, enough power to serve more than 300,000 average-size homes in the Tennessee Valley. TVA’s current renewable energy portfolio now includes 5,095 megawatts from hydro, wind, solar, and methane sources. In addition, TVA’s nuclear plants contribute 6,900 megawatts of electricity.

TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely self-financing. TVA provides power to large industries and 157 power distributors that serve approximately 9 million consumers in seven southeastern states.

John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report and speaks at conferences.