Abstract
The objective of this study is to identify factors that influence actual electric vehicle (EV) drivers’ acceptance of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging. The study takes a qualitative approach in order to provide insight into actual EV users’ perceptions of V2G technology and their underlying motivation to accept or not accept V2G. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is adopted to create a basic conceptual model of the potential factors influencing users’ acceptance of V2G. Twenty semi-structured interviews are conducted among Dutch EV drivers, including both regular EV drivers, as well as participants who had previously taken part in V2G projects. The factors that are found to be most important for fostering acceptance are financial compensation, transparent communication and reliable control of the system by the user. On the other hand, the factors that are found to have a negative effect on acceptance are range anxiety, discomfort experienced while participating and battery degradation. Our study shows that the majority of our interview participants accept V2G albeit with some reservations and caution. As EVs and V2G are new technologies, our sample of twenty actual EV users consists of early adopters. As such, their attitudes may not reflect those of the majority of future users. However, our study suggests that there are EV users who are willing to use V2G charge points and will continue to do so. The reasons behind such user acceptance are further described in the study together with additional insights and ideas for future research.
Highlights
The vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept, as suggested by Kempton and Letendre (1997), proposed the use of electric vehicles (EVs) to deliver electricity back to the grid when needed
The potential benefits of such a system are envisioned to include the ease of integration of greater shares of variable renewable electricity production, reduction in investment in peaker plants and financial remuneration for EV drivers to incentivize the adoption of EVs (Kempton and Tomic, 2005)
This study aims to explore the attitudes of Dutch EV drivers towards V2G and to provide insight into the factors influencing their acceptance of V2G
Summary
The vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concept, as suggested by Kempton and Letendre (1997), proposed the use of electric vehicles (EVs) to deliver electricity back to the grid when needed. The objective is to utilise the large storage capacity of aggregated electric vehicle fleets to provide services to the grid in exchange for which EV drivers are financially compensated. The potential benefits of such a system are envisioned to include the ease of integration of greater shares of variable renewable electricity production, reduction in investment in peaker plants and financial remuneration for EV drivers to incentivize the adoption of EVs (Kempton and Tomic, 2005). The use of V2G is entering the phase of commercialization with offthe-shelf charging points becoming available in the European market (EVTEC, 2020; OVO Energy, 2020). Grid operators in Europe are making arrangements to enable the integration of EVs in the electricity system through market-based mechanisms (TenneT SwissGrid, 2020). Before further adoption and commercialization of V2G can proceed, consumer acceptance is essen tial (Sovacool et al, 2017)
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