Plug-in solar now officially plug-in

Winterthur district has a population of 182,065 (Wikipedia), and the local utility has already established 200 local energy communities. They estimate that, together with those not created by them ('private ones'), there will be 300 communities.

Here’s the article in English

It’s perfectly doable today in the Netherlands because of net metering (which will disappear in 2027) and the current subscription based network tariff. But for car makers, it’s a small (and not their home) market, plus Dutch policy attention is skewed towards public AC bidirectional.

One more barrier that's been mentioned in Germany that still needs to be sorted out is that it seems like consumers who make money from bidirectional charging are treated as businesses for tax purposes. Just like with solar PV, this should be simpler.

In anticipation of these changes, BMW/E.ON have already announced their V2G proposition for Germany. Mobility House will now also be able to market their proposition with Renault* and Mercedes-Benz. (* but there are still other hurdles to overcome here due to technical requirements)

This amendment to the Energy Act, together with administrative changes to how solar and grid power are charged for storage (see post), will make V2G propositions in Germany practicable in the course of next year.

Some examples:

This is a good short-term solution to make V2G more widely available. In a few years, it can then be replaced by a system with dynamic and sometimes even negative network prices.

The trinity of PV curtailment (limiting the highest generation peaks, which are the same for all solar panels in a neighbourhood), heat pump and EV flexibility also reduces the necessary investments in the distribution network.

PV curtailment in rural areas, demand-side flexibility in urban areas