New solar carport at SDG&E features more EV chargers

San Diego Gas & Electric has installed 10 new plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) chargers at its Century Park location in Kearny Mesa. In cooperation with SDG&E’s Sustainable Communities Program, Facilities and Clean Transportation teams, the chargers were installed as part of a project that includes a 25-kilowatt solar shade canopy and an 88-kilowatt-hour energy storage system.

With the participation of nearly 40 employees that have purchased PEVs, and SDG&E’s own plug-in fleet, the project will support demonstrations of:

The effectiveness of low-cost charging equipment for the work place
Dynamic pricing that provides access to low priced energy at times-of-day when wholesale energy prices are low.
PEV charging load management, influenced by local energy management systems and/or utility Demand Response (DR) systems.

Workplace charging

The project reinforces SDG&E’s commitment to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Workplace Charging Challenge, which aims to expand the availability of workplace charging, increase the convenience of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and provide drivers with more charging options.

With the new charging system up and running, employees can sign up for a personal identification number (PIN) and charge their personal plug-in vehicles while parked at their workplace.  Employees are charged for their energy usage based on how much and when they charge throughout the day.

The PEV charging system was built by Liberty Plug-ins and uses some of the lowest cost charging stations on the market. A new and unique feature of this project is the charging stations’ central kiosk that incorporates access control, metering, and accommodations for demand-response and dynamic pricing.

The results of the project will be shared with SDG&E business customers interested in adding EV charging to their workplace.

Preparing for the future

A team is also working to define a set of dynamic pricing routines that will be used to assess drivers' charging behavior.  These results will be used to provide input to design new regulatory guidelines and demand response programs – programs that contribute to the effective management of new load on the electric grid from vehicles, while providing energy for plug-in vehicles when and where it’s needed, and at the lowest possible cost.