Electric Farm Vehicles as Reliable Grid Assets
Demonstrate an on-farm mobile microgrid concept using bidirectional electric tractors to support loads during grid outages.
Gridtractor, Inc.
Recipient
Belmont, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
21st
Assembly District
$1,664,881
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project team has completed permitting and interconnection agreements for the Terranova Ranch demonstration and is almost complete with the Talley Vineyards demonstration site. This work includes site designs with EVSE locations and electrical designs. The project team has begun the site and electrical design of the first bidirectional AC site. Throughout 2024, the project team focused on the continuing the development of bidirectional charging technology, which is scheduled for completion in 2025. Testing of the bidirectional DC EVSE charger has continued in 2024 with expected completion this year. Hardware selection and integration has also continued throughout 2024.
The Issue
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is nascent, particularly in the agricultural sector. Electric tractors are entering commercial scale production and do not have the onboard capabilities nor the related Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) and control systems for bidirectional charging to support critical on-farm and rural loads during PSPS events or other reliability and grid management use cases. Development of technology to support and add value to electrification of California’s tractor fleet will accelerate the transition to EFVs and enable the state to take advantage of more than 2,000 megawatts of existing electrical infrastructure for vehicle electrification at a time when other sectors are limited by the need to deploy new electrical services.
Project Innovation
This project will demonstrate an on-farm mobile microgrid concept, which involves bidirectional charging of battery-electric agricultural tractors to support loads during outages, participate in demand response, and load shift in response to time of use tariffs. The project will develop high power discharge capabilities for the electric tractor, integrate bidirectional chargers with on-farm electrical service points, and manage charging and loads in several grid integration use cases.
Project Goals
Develop and demonstrate bidirectional charging capabilities for agricultural tractors using DC and AC technologies.
Develop an app to optimize the use of on-farm electrical systems for irrigation and tractor bidirectional charging.
Test the integrated systems in PSPS events, demand response events, and in response to price signals form the grid.
Project Benefits
The project will enable electric farm vehicles to be used as mobile power sources that can be stored in advance of a planned shutoff or deployed at current battery levels during an unplanned outage to provide backup for critical on-farm loads. As a stretch goal, the project will also attempt to control the EFV charge and discharge behavior in response to demand response events and/or in response to price signals from the MIDAS system. These actions will result in the ratepayer benefits of greater electricity reliability, lower costs, and reduced carbon emissions.
Affordability
Affordability
The project will help enable cost-effective electrification of EFV and manage EFC charge and discharge behavior in ways that benefit the grid.
Reliability
Reliability
The project will result in greater electricity reliability in agricultural applications through the use of electric tractors supporting critical loads during PSPS events and other grid disruptions.
Key Project Members
David Meyers
CEO
Gridtractor, Inc.
Subrecipients
Polaris Energy Services Inc.
Rhombus Energy Solutions, Inc.
Zimeno, Inc.
Current Ways, Inc.
Cal-West Rain, Inc.
Huis Digital, LLC
Match Partners
Polaris Energy Services Inc.
Rhombus Energy Solutions, Inc.
Gridtractor, Inc.
Zimeno, Inc.
Current Ways, Inc.
Huis Digital, LLC
