Nissan Building Power: LEAF Batteries with Solar for office

Let’s talk Nissan building power. I mean Nissan Leaf battery packs gone building power. That’s by converting the batteries for their energy storage program. For it has carried out a successful early field test of a system. One that will allow companies to regulate their electricity bills using the batteries of Nissan LEAFs used by their staff to commute to work.

So a term now called “Vehicle-To-Building” allows up to six Nissan LEAFs to juice up the building. Yes folks these EVs are then connected to the building’s power distribution board.

Vehicle to Building: Nissan Building Power

So this is a micro grid as written in Microgrid knowledge. It seems as if Xcel Energy, Panasonic and Denver International Airport built a $10.3 million solar microgrid in Colorado. All to demonstrate the use of batteries in a microgrid.

The Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel subsidiary. For it applied for approval of the microgrid last week. That came before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and approved.

Solar microgrid with Nissan EV batteries

As a result, the solar microgrid will installed at an airport parking garage is near a new commuter rail. Then consequently, Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company headquarters is being built across the street, near 61st and Peña Boulevard in Denver.

Solar Canopy

In addition, the microgrid includes a 1.3 MW AC canopy solar installation. That’s as well as a 1 MW and a 2 MWh lithium battery storage system. In addition, the batteries serve the grid and provide back-up power for the building.

Now back to the Nissan example and instead of solar. For Nissan Leaf’s energy storage comes from EVs charging the building. All therefore phased throughout the day. That’s so at peak hours when electricity is most expensive, the building draws power from the cars.

Electricity Flows from Nissan 

Then, when electricity is consequently cheaper it flows the other way. The system ensures the Nissan LEAFs are fully charged. That’s by the end of the working day for their owners to drive home.

“Vehicle-to-Building” has been in use at the Nissan Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi City, Japan, since July. So the facility benefited from a reduction of 25.6KW during peak summer periods. All by controlling the charging time of the EVs. Then that’s with no impact on the workers’ daily commute, or their vehicles. The results have led to approximately a 2.5-percent reduction of electrical power use during peak hours, a saving of nearly 500,000 Yen per year in electrical power cost (based on current Tokyo Electric Power Company’s rates).

Vehicle-to-building: Nissan Power 

Nissan plans to further test and refine the “Vehicle-To-Building” system. That’s so the “LEAF-to-Home” power units providing an uninterrupted flow of electricity.  All stored in the high-capacity batteries onboard Nissan LEAF electric vehicles (EV). That’s going directly to residential homes. The system will help encourage Nissan LEAF owners to charge their cars with electricity generated during the night, when demand is low.  Also then sourced from solar panels.

This assists in balancing energy needs by supplying electricity to homes/offices during daytime, when demand is highest. It can also be used as backup power source in case of a power outage and/or shortages. Cumulative sales of the Nissan LEAF have now passed 87,000 units making it the best-selling electric vehicle in history.

As Panasonic USA writes:

Electricity demand is rising as global temperatures increase and economies grow. Thereby driving greater demand for cooling: Even researchers project that by 2050 a warming climate will push energy needs 25% higher.  Especially in parts of China, Europe, and the United States.

Rising energy demand contributes to climate change – greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cooling have tripled over the past three decades. But what if smart appliances could turn millions of buildings in America into millions of batteries helping to balance our grid through building electrification?

Buildings work in an integrated way with the electricity system.  All delivering affordable, low-carbon comfort. Then smart, efficient electric appliances allow buildings to smooth out energy demand.  Furthermore supporting more renewable energy on the power grid.

Source: Panasonic USASource: Renault / Nissan Alliance