Smart Grid Software Leader GridPoint to Provide Smart Charging Software for Largest U.S. Electric Vehicle Rollout

GridPoint, Inc. has hooked up with the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), Nissan, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and others in a project to deploy electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging infrastructure in five states.

DOE awarded eTec almost $100 million in stimulus funds last week to support the project. GridPoint's role will be to supply smart charging and data logging capability to utilities located in strategic markets of eTec's program in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.

Up to 5,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles and 12,750 charging facilities are expected to be deployed in those states. GridPoint and INL have been working with eTec for more than a year on vehicle performance and fast-charging systems. The project also may include exploring advanced smart charging capabilities, including synchronization with renewable energy sources.

The GridPoint software, Smart Charging 3.0, will allow utilities to utilize load shifting and shaping, integration of renewable energy sources and demand response options. Its Smart Charging software gives utilities the ability to weigh real-time grid conditions and individual driver's needs. In the past two years, the company has concentrated on building and developing its software, gathering data from converted plug-in vehicles and soliciting feedback from consumers.

GridPoint CEO Peter L. Corsell said, "GridPoint is delighted to participate in eTec's groundbreaking project and applauds our country's commitment to support the creation of an intelligent electric vehicle infrastructure. Our advanced software capabilities will help utilities prepare the grid for the imminent arrival of plug-in vehicles."

Previous smart charging trials and testing have been hampered by the relatively small number of EVs connected to the electric grid. The much broader eTec project is expected to provide a significant opportunity for assessment and evaluation that was unavailable in the smaller projects.

Click the links below for more information about the project, and for previous coverage and comment from Smart Grid News.

   GridPoint news release

   Previous SGN coverage