It is estimated that there will be an average of three million electric vehicles on the road in 2015...

1. Weaving electric transportation, wireless communications
and the Smart Grid - San Francisco Green Careers
It is estimated that there will be an average of three million electric vehicles on the road in 2015 in
the United States. The WCA Smart Grid special interest group (SIG) met on Thursday, September
8th, at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in Palo Alto, CA to discuss the impact of mass
deployment of Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the Smart Grid and the role of technology in this domain.
While we transition into intelligent energy management, the Smart Grid vitality is becoming more
significant.
Former US Secretary of State George Shultz opened the session, addressing national security
implications of relying on foreign oil. He said that the smart grid is a necessity for our national
security, our economy, and for a sustainable future. Mr. Shultz noted that the American economy
dependency on foreign oil has forced the US to change its foreign policy to accommodate to our
petroleum needs. Oil prices have demonstrated a roller coaster effect in the past forty years. This
time, he explained, is different: prices are going up and are not likely to go back down. Mr. Shultz
talked about our need to progress with innovation and technology to find alternative solutions to our
growing demand for electricity. This brings the focus on the Smart Grid: beyond it's operability, we
must keep the grid secure. The Smart Grid is essential for our economy and in addressing climate
change. "Using energy more effectively is vital. Transportation is changing rapidly and moving
toward electric power," he said.
Mr. Shultz shared with the audience that he drives an electric car. He noted that he uses solar
energy from the panels installed on house's roof to recharge his electric car. He said he "drives on
sunshine." When it comes to EV mass deployment, Mr. shultz said that he believes that game
changers will appear and will be on a much brighter road than before. Energy initiatives are more
easily funded today and the consumers are more receptive.
Followed by Mr. Shultz presentation, a panel
discussion was moderated by John Addison the
publisher and editor of the Clean Fleet Report.
Panelists included: Rob Bearman, Director of
Global Alliances, Energy Utilities Group, Better
Place;? Richard Lowenthal, Founder CTO,
Coulomb Technologies; Trae Vassallo, Partner
(Fisker Automotive), Kleiner Perkins Caufield
Byers; Saul Zambrano, Director Integrated
Demand Side Management Product Portfolio
Lead, PGE;? and Mike Wojcik, Enterprise Data
Sales Director, Verizon Wireless.
The panelists noted that we are on the trajectory
of reaching three million EVs by 2015. The
current US electric grid is estimated to be able to
handle such growth. However, when it comes to mass adoption there are many concerns of the
ability of the smart grid to reliably handle such energy demands. Other predictions point to a higher
number of EVs in four years: five million electric cars and plug-in hybrids will travel US roads.

2. Wireless communications has been in the process of permeating into the EV sector. In addition to
attaining 'fueling' (i.e. charging ) infrastructure and operable, reliable and secure Smart Grid,
wireless communications networks, technology and applications are required for the success of EV
mass deployment. The smart grid needs to be able to handle millions of communication transactions
generated by smart meters, various operational systems in buildings and cities, temperature and
water metering, distribution automation, demand response surveying, and more. Today, wireless is
also used in data collection and analysis to determine opportunities to optimize energy consumption.
With mass deployment of EVs, charging stations, and related services, various software applications
will be used over wireless networks. For EVs, wireless is used to locate a charging station, reserve a
'pole' and use navigation assistance to the station. Paying at the charge station by credit card or a
'clip' card also utilizes wireless communication, as well as navigational GPS (Global Positioning
Systems), Blue Tooth abilities, and a range of applications that involve vehicle maintenance
management.
New functional applications will grow exponentially. Mr. Addison demonstrated one of the
applications: before arriving at the event, he plugged his Nissan Leaf into a charging station in Palo
Alto. While moderating the session, he showed the audience an application on his smart phone that
lets him track the progress of his car's re-charging process.
Convenience and price are the focus of Better Place, an innovative EV infrastructure visionary
company from Palo Alto, CA, which is commonly known as the "car battery" company. Mr. Bearman
said that Better Place goal is to provide fueling to cars at the convenience and price of gasoline.
Better Place model addresses vehicle mobility needs by offering switch-able battery packs, where a
vehicle owner can replace depleted batteries with fully charged ones. The company offers several
service packages at various levels, depending on the owners' mobility, needs, accessibility, and
geographical location. However, Better Place offers more that just battery packs; they also offer in-
car software and telematics management systems, operated through wireless networks.
From the venture investment side, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB) KPCB green investment
portfolio has grown tremendously in the past decade. Mr. Vassallo said that KPCB is focused on the
green economy. There are many clean technologies that are at the cusp of commercialization. In the
EV sector, KPCB invested in Fisker, in an electric bus company and also in other smart
transportation elements, like traffic data gathering and analytics applications. In the Smart Grid
space, they are looking at various enablers at various levels of the network. He said that KPCB
approach is to identify and invest in green technologies that do not offer trade-offs, require none or
minimal behavioral change, or are too costly. They apply the same view to EVs.
Mr. Zambrano from PGE discussed the impact of EV on the Smart Grid's capacity. In the early
adoption phase of electric cars, the grid can handle the need. However, as the number of vehicles
increases considerably, utility companies face many challenges. Mr. Zambrano said that CA utilities
must balance regulatory guidelines with several factors: benefits, cost minimization, and operational
viability. There are several key questions that utilities need to address and he gave a few examples:
strategically, should the utilities own the charging infrastructure or should the private market
handle it? Communication networks - should the utilities use private or public networks? When it
comes to wireless service, should utilities use service providers (like Verizon)? What kind of
communication protocol will utilities use? Such questions determine the ability of the Smart Grid to
reliably handle large number of EVs.
Mr. Lowenthal from Coulomb Technologies presented relevant aspects of electric transportation and

3. the Smart Grid. Coulomb in Campbell, CA, provides electric vehicle charging systems and
application services. Their ChargePoint Network is an open-platform infrastructure that delivers
electric fuel to plug-in electric vehicles worldwide.
EVs impact on the Smart Grid includes:
Peak load management to address demand response and Time of use pricing (TOU)
Regulating down time by increasing load
Time stamped metering
Energy use reporting
Remote disconnect and remote re-instate
Vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home: utilizing energy from the car's battery back to the grid, and
using the stored energy (in the car's battery) for electricity at the home environment.
Mr. Lowenthal's suggested model for managing the future load of the grid has the ability to
automatically shift grid load to off peak hours. He stated that the benefits of this model are
significant: consumers will charge with the lowest electricity rate (at late night), and off peak
charging will not necessitate building additional grid generation, transmission and distribution
capacity.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
1. The Clean Fleet Report details the transition to electric cars charged with renewable energy
through the Smart Grid. The report included hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles in public
transit, high-speed rail, car sharing, ride sharing, passenger cars, and fleets. Beyond gasoline and
diesel, low carbon fuels are reported including electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, biomethane, and
advanced biofuels.
2. WCA - Wireless Communications Alliance - is a non-profit business league dedicated to providing
Education, Connection, and Community for companies, organizations, and individuals involved with
wireless technologies.
Aligned with Joint Venture Silicon Valley model, WCA goals are to promote education, networking,
and exchange of non-proprietary information; to increase awareness of Silicon Valley's vast wireless
capabilitie; and reach to a range of companies from multinational corporations to start-ups.
Led by an all-volunteer board of directors, membership is not a requirement. Admission to events
requires a small fee ($10 - $20). To get involved and for a list of events check www.wca.org or click
here for contact information.
http://www.examiner.com/article/weaving-electric-transportation-wireless-communications-and-the-s
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