Electric cars have the potential to act as storage devices that can help flatten out the demand curve for energy and allow utilities to avoid massive infrastructure investments to support a shift to renewables. This is explained in Digital Trends, in their Electric Vehicle Power Storage article

With the ever-increasing range (i.e., storage capacity) that we are now finding in electric cars, we can store electricity during high solar energy production periods and discharge during the evening when demand is up and production is low. This is already being done, e.g., in Japan, the Nissan LEAF is being used in ‘vehicle to home’ energy applications. (Their supply-demand periods are opposite ours but I hope you get the point.)

The benefit can decrease the need for significant infrastructure investments when done at a larger scale – imagine millions of vehicles storing energy generated from solar sources and dispensing during periods of high demand. At least one study has been done to show how this might work. The recent BMW and PG&E study is a good example.

Perhaps someday soon, a Tesla will also be a Powerwall. On wheels.

– Noel