Displacing California´s coal and nuclear generation with solar PV and wind by 2022 using vehicle-to-grid energy storage

Unsubsidized costs of solar PV and wind energy are beginning to directly compete with coal and natural gas in some locations. The time is fast approaching when firm plans for their widespread adoption will be needed, once renewable energy variability is reconciled with daily utility electricity demand profiles. A recent four-year study of the PJM regional transmission district indicated that 99.9% grid reliability could be achieved if electric vehicle-to-grid energy storage were used in tandem with solar and wind generation. Applying this to estimate the number of grid-connected electric vehicles needed to displace the coal and nuclear power generation in California gives 1.7 million vehicles (just 8% of California´s 22 million passenger vehicles), when combined with 12 GW of utility solar PV and wind generation capacity. This combination offers potential solutions to greenhouse-gas-emission-driven global climate change problems.