Danes test wind powered cars in smart grid experiment

21/06/09

A project being tested on a small Danish island could provide the solution for the intermittant nature of wind power.

The project, based on the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept, uses smart grid technology to control the supply and demand of the wind generated power, and utilises batteries in parked electric cars to store excess energy.

At present 20% of Bornholm island's electricity is supplied by its wind turbines, and while an additional 20% wind generated capacity is available it cannot be effectively harnessed due to the intermittant nature of wind.

While there are many smart grid trials underway, using cars as part of the supply and demand control of a smart grid has not been attempted before now.