Source: AutoGuideSource: AutoGuideWe've all heard the pitch that installing solar panels on your roof, after you pay back the usually immense cost to purchase the panels in the first place, will allow you to contribute to the electrical grid, and in turn, the electric company will pay you rather than you paying them.Well, Massachusetts is looking into paying the state's electric vehicle drivers for their unused battery power.massachusetts is looking into paying ev drivers for battery powerAs Electrek notes, some Massachusetts-dwelling EV drivers will get paid for their battery car's battery juice. Incentives will be available for those who have enough stored power to send from their car batteries into the grid when it's under extreme load.AdvertisementAdvertisementUtility suppliers Eversource and National Grid are the companies working to make this happen, working to add residential vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging. This will be done via ConnectedSolutions, which is their in-house "virtual power plant program." High-demand periods and demand spikes will allow EV owners (with capable vehicles) to offload battery from the vehicles directly to the grid, in turn taking some of the burden off the power companies themselves.massachusetts is looking into paying ev drivers for battery powerA spokesperson for the program reached out to Electrek on the subject, stating:The program has announced an initial list of eligible vehicles – including the Ford F-150 Lightning, Nissan LEAF, Kia EV9, Polestar 3, and Volvo EX90, and participants will earn performance-based incentives that vary by technology provider, battery capacity, and participation.For National Grid customers participating through ConnectedSolutions, incentives are currently available at up to $275 per average kilowatt (kW) of performance over the summer season, which could translate to approximately $1,375–$2,750 for many residential participants, depending on charger capacity and performance.AdvertisementAdvertisementSounds promising, right? When big organizations put together what seem to be appealing, tempting offers (in this case, the incentives for Massachusetts EV owners), it's easy to be swindled into participating. The downside here is obviously that there won't be anywhere near the proper compensation, and that a battery depleted when Eversource or National Grid so choose isn't great, should there be an emergency and you need the car in a pinch.Massachusetts apparently has around 150,000 EVs, though obviously not all of them are plugged in nightly and not all have bidirectional charging. National Grid is already using some of these cars for their benefit via the ConnectedSolutions program, and it all starts with electric school buses.As always, not every EV will qualify, and not every EV charger will qualify. Whether this pilot program turns out to be beneficial or not remains to be seen.
