Long-stay car park charging enough to power over 1.3m UK homes

According to research from distribution system operator UK Power Networks, charging EV batteries in a long-stay car park, such as those at airports, when energy is cheap and demand is low has the flexibility capacity to potentially power more than 1.3 million homes in the UK.

This comes from the DSO’s Park and Flex study, which looked at the potential offered by charging up in car parks during periods of abundant supply and injecting back into the power system during peak demand periods.

An early finding from the study suggests that flexible electricity demand, totalling 4.3GW, would significantly contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy in London, the East and South East of England.

The research incorporated advanced modelling and relied on forecasts from both UK Power Networks and energy specialist Baringa regarding the expected growth EVs in the UK.

Long-stay car parks, particularly those at airports, were found to be more advantageous for this purpose, compared to shorter-term parking solutions like hotels or supermarket parking lots.

This is because the duration of a vehicle’s stay in an airport car park is often determined by the customer’s flight schedule, providing network operators with valuable insights into available spare power or capacity.

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The implementation of this concept across the 140,000 long-stay parking spaces served by UK Power Networks in the south and east of England could potentially lead to energy savings of £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) by 2050.

Director of customer service and innovation at UK Power Networks Ian Cameron commented in a release: “As more and more people begin to adopt green technologies, we’re able to innovate and explore tangible scenarios that could make a real difference on the path to net zero.

“Through Park and Flex, we foresee a world where dormant vehicles can be used as the building blocks for one of the UK’s biggest flex batteries. This dynamic battery, fuelled by thousands upon thousands of electric vehicles could play a massive role in creating a new green energy supply, and could do so without customers having to lift a finger.”

The Park and Flex project is an ongoing collaborative effort alongside vehicle to grid provider Fermata Energy and energy consultancy Baringa and received funding support from Innovate UK’s Strategic Innovation Fund.

As the study progresses, it will explore the possibility of implementing the V2G approach via car parks on a national scale and identify the incentives required to make it a reality.

Tony Posawatz, CEO of Fermata Energy added: “With ramping sales of electric vehicles, gigawatts of energy storage capacity can be accessed with bi-directional (V2G) charging to support UK distribution networks during peak events.

“Airports have enormous public car parks and large electrical systems throughout. With thousands of vehicles parked for hours to days at a time, enormous value can be unlocked in key grid locations providing resilience and stability, while lowering costs. This first-of-its kind Park and Flex study will demonstrate the scalable benefits of V2G technology in public car parks for grid networks and consumers alike.”