Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in a series aimed at helping facility managers prepare for the opportunities presented by the energy revolution. The first article  defined grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) and introduced the possibilities they pose for the real estate industry, individual FMs looking for that edge and for the FM profession in its quest to attract talent. The second article defines renewable energy certificates (RECs) and their relevance to the profession. The third article defined financial benefits available to organizations.

Electric vehicles (EVs) to grid-interactive efficient buildings are like a catalyst to a chemical equation: they take it to a whole new level. Why?

  • EVs are a powerful link to the energy user. Like other personal property, they tend to reflect owner’s values and ideals and have proven to shape human behavior.

  • If used correctly, they dramatically reduce peak energy demand while unlocking revenue and contributing to climate goals. Like all cars, EVs are parked 95 percent of the time, effectively making them batteries on wheels. If charged when clean energy is abundant and discharged when it is scarce, an EV acts as a distributed energy resource (DER).

  • If used incorrectly, they can readily undo the hard work on flattening an asset’s electricity consumption because they guzzle up energy. This is one of the reasons that electric charging stations lose money when catering, without sufficient batteries, to users who’s commute pattern has them charging at peak electricity prices.

EV owners are prosumers

In the context of clean energy trading, a prosumer is an entity that both supplies and buys energy. The EV owner is a prosumer if they charge its batteries when renewable energy is abundant and then discharge it to other users.

EVs can amplify the grid-interactive potential of a real estate asset. To illustrate the discussion, the diagram below ranks available scenarios from the least (1) to most transformational (12) to the industry, each scenario adding to the ones before. Asset owners or operators may find a slightly different order to be the easiest. Whatever the order, start at the top and move down the pyramid down to unlock the most benefits for all.

GIB4-Pyramid

EV charging

It all starts with an EV charging station.

Scenario 1: Basic charging

EVs charge at a real estate asset increasing overall electricity demand, and the owner does not influence how or when that happens. Whether the owner charges for this service or not, this is the basic most passive, and most common solution today.

Scenario 2: Basic behavior influence

Encourage EVs to charge when it is best for the overall electricity demand. This can be achieved through price signals, e.g., making charging cheaper or otherwise more attractive (think: non-financial perks) when clean energy is abundant.

Scenario 3: Trace carbon footprint

Need to know the exact carbon footprint of the corporate fleet? Gain absolute visibility of the attributes (carbon intensity, time, location, price) of energy consumed by the EVs and have the data streamlined into ESG reporting.

Scenario 4: Green charging

Track and disclose the providence of the electricity pouring into EVs. People are increasingly willing to pay for this because for most, that is the main driver behind EV ownership; a motivation only accentuated where there are organizational commitments to climate action (e.g., to net zero carbon or to 100 percent carbon-free energy) because vehicle emissions are part of Scope 3 carbon accounting.

Imagine if, pulling up at a charging station, a consumer could choose the energy’s source the way they choose fuel grade at a gas station. Now, imagine choosing between a number of renewable energy sources – near and far; solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, hydrogen; commercial or community solar – and consumers supporting their preference with their wallet. Now, multiply the impact of that by the entire EV fleet of multinational corporations. That’s why EVs are a superpower.

Scenario 5: Green charging + RECs

When renewable generation is limited, FMs may be able to offer EV drivers the option of topping up with Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) on the spot for that 100 percent clean-energy charge.

Want an Uber powered by 100% clean energy?

Initiatives to rank and reward car-share drivers on their cars’ operational carbon are underway. Specifically, Uber's Green Future program provides access to resources valued at $800 million to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to battery EVs by 2025 in Canada, Europe, and the US.

Scenario 6: Battery-supported charging

Adding a battery to the real estate asset means organizations can supply more guaranteed clean energy around the clock, unlocking further revenue if that helps.

Scenario 7: Monetize “green charging” credits

Where they exist, FMs can unlock another revenue stream by monetizing incentives for clean EV charging. For example, California issues Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credits that can generate revenue for a regularly used car and more than US$10,000a year for a truck. Consider automating this cumbersome process with software.

Two-way charging: Much more becomes possible when bi-directional EV charging meets intelligent software.

Scenario 8: EVs as emergency power

EVs plugged into the real estate asset can serve the role of emergency power. Rather than invest in diesel or other carbon-intensive generators, a facility may choose to activate its fleet and visitor EVs through an arrangement where EV batteries are discharged in emergencies for a price that suits all while preserving sufficient charge for the vehicle owner to get home. As EVs become more prolific and the market transitions to the all-electric future, imagine the value of this scenario to mission-critical operations such as hospitals.

V2X means vehicle-to-everything. It includes many different use cases such as vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services.

Scenario 9: EVs as demand management

EVs become a regular lever of demand management. Imagine if a movie theater offered to paid customers to discharge their EV battery (again, without compromising their ability to get home) during an afternoon screening. Now, imagine how useful this can be for assets constrained in on-site generation but where customers park for extended amounts of time, e.g. airports. They may be able to reduce or even avoid infrastructure upgrades while the customer comes back to cash rather than a parking bill. A win-win, plus one for the planet.

Scenario 10: EVs in P2P

Layer peer-to-peer energy trading (P2P) within the real estate asset or campus to fully activate the carbon and financial potential of EVs. In this case, EV owners can choose to put the clean energy stored in their batteries for sale within their local energy community, e.g., when they know they are not going out during peak demand times.

Scenario 11: EVs in loyalty P2P

Imagine converting the clean energy stored in an EV battery directly into goods and services. Imagine earning store-specific dollars while shopping there or airport vouchers while on vacation. Bi-directional charging can turn every EV into a source of liquid funds, perks, goods and services.

CASE STUDY

Carlton United Breweries: Peer-to-Beer

Clean EV power becomes a source of goods and services. Asahi’s largest brewery in the Southern Hemisphere wanted to create a carbon-neutral beer but was unable to generate enough on-site electricity. Rather than engaging in a PPA, it is sourcing excess solar from its residential customers and paying them in beer! A van pulls up to each participating curbside and offloads as many cases of beer as that customer earned through this cashless exchange. This solution is enabled by a SaaS solution that provides real-time tracing, tracking, and trading of energy and environmental commodities.

Not only has this become a 99 percent self-funding marketing campaign – the dream of any marketer - but it attracted more than AUS$3 million in earned (aka, free) media within months.

Scenario 12: V2G

V2G stands for vehicle to grid (also known as car-to-grid) and describes solutions where the EV battery is discharged to the grid. Real estate assets can make money by selling energy to the grid during peak hours, helping balance natural variations in energy production and consumption while earning several times the amount usually paid per kWh. This is a grid flexibility service; a revenue stream potentially open to all DERs.

These scenarios illustrate how powerful electric vehicles are in accelerating the whole-system transition to the clean-energy future. To unlock the full benefit, start at the top and work down as far as leverage goes. By looking at your electrical vehicle as a distributed energy resource, organizations can reap benefits beyond carbon reduction; can shave years off payback period, drive meaningful behavior change and enhance customer loyalty.