Evaluating the economic viability of vehicle to Grid applications in South Africa

The recent escalations in oil prices and greenhouse gas emissions have been key indicators of an urgent need for a less carbon intensive automotive industry through technologies such as the more efficient electric-drive vehicle (EDV). The current plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) share in the automotive market is still limited, however with emerging technological advances and consumer adoption, its market share is projected to expand. This paper explores economic models adopted by developed countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia in assessing the financially viability a South Africa “Vehicle to Grid” (V2G) scenario. Building on these benchmark cases, models utilizing vehicle pricing, fuel costing and market penetration scenarios were considered to assess South Africa´s standing in world EDV market. Following the inspection of three South African power markets, namely, peak power, spinning reserves and regulatory services, the paper proposes incentives for consumers to participate in V2G schemes through energy arbitrage.