Nanjing Car Owners Can Earn Money by Selling Electricity: Virtual Power Plant Scale Comparable to Large Power Plants
State Grid announced that as of now, the Nanjing Virtual Power Plant Management Platform has connected 20 operators and over 4,300 aggregated users, with declared regulation capacity exceeding 300,000 kilowatts, equivalent to a large green peak-shaving power plant. Some may not know what a virtual power plant is; it's not a real power plant, but rather integrates dispersed power resources, such as electric vehicle owners and enterprise production equipment, for unified management and intelligent dispatch, helping the grid regulate peak and off-peak electricity demand.
The most interesting aspect is the V2G vehicle-grid interaction pilot program. Car owners can charge their electric vehicles during periods of low electricity demand and then sell the electricity back to the grid during peak demand, allowing them to save on electricity bills and earn additional income.
Industrial parks are also involved. The virtual power plant will intelligently adjust the production electricity usage time of enterprises based on dynamic electricity price signals updated every 15 minutes, such as scheduling high-power-consumption processes during off-peak hours, which saves enterprises money on electricity bills and reduces the pressure on the grid.
Currently, Jiangsu Province has 100 virtual power plant projects in the first batch, with 10 located in Nanjing. As the number of electric vehicles increases and more enterprises participate, the scale of virtual power plants will continue to grow.
In the future, more car owners may join the ranks of earning money by selling electricity, which will be convenient for them and contribute to the grid, achieving a win-win situation.