Abstract for: Electric vehicles and the energy transition - an Australian case study

Electric vehicles (EVs) are rapidly gaining a share of global car sales and offer benefits in both operating costs and avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions. In tandem with household rooftop solar PV in so-called vehicle-to-home (V2H) mode, EVs can operate as home batteries and store excess solar generation instead of exporting that energy to the electricity network. This modelling study seeks to identify the financial and emissions benefits arising from V2H configurations for typical households in Australian cities to explore the economic and emissions reduction potential. With typical private vehicle use in Australian cities, EVs coupled with solar PV in V2H mode can provide similar savings in cost and emissions avoidance to homes with batteries but without their additional capital cost and environmental life cycle impact. Government incentives should target the integration of home solar and EVs, while EV marketing should better identify the combined benefits. Policy and regulation of bi-directional EV chargers is critical to meeting the objectives of widespread V2H operation in Australian homes.