The first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional charging stations in western Massachusetts have been installed at the 1,168 MW Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station. According to a release, this is also the first such installation at a U.S. hydroelectric power facility.
FirstLight Power’s Northfield Mountain is New England’s largest energy storage facility, capable of powering more than 1 million homes for up to 7.5 hours each day. The V2G installation, in the visitor parking lot outside of the station, includes two bidirectional chargers that can both charge electric vehicles and send energy stored in the EV batteries to the grid.
The FirstLight operations team, which drives two leased Nissan LEAFs, can discharge some of the energy stored in the EV batteries to the grid when it is needed most, such as during peak demand times caused by heat waves and other extreme weather events.
The installation also includes two single-directional public EV charging stations.
FirstLight Power, Fermata Energy, Skyview Ventures, State Representative Susannah M. Whipps, and other officials celebrated this milestone on Sept. 8. Fermata Energy deployed the bidirectional charging stations and manages the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) through its software platform. Skyview Ventures transacts, advises and invests in renewable energy and carbon reduction markets and companies across North America and provided the project financing.
As Fermata Energy Founder and Chief Executive Officer David Slutzky explained, “EVs spend more time parked than being driven, and parked EVs are an underutilized, untapped resource that can support grid resilience when coupled with V2X technologies. FirstLight understands how EVs are both sustainable transportation and mobile energy storage assets.”
The V2X program at the FirstLight’s hydroelectric facility participates in Eversource’s Connected Solutions ‘Daily Dispatch’ demand response program and is among the first Connected Solutions projects using light-duty EVs in Eversource’s service area.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Fermata Energy, Skyview Ventures, and Eversource to complete the successful installation of these V2G charging stations, which reflect our commitment to embrace new technologies and solutions to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future,” said Alicia Barton, president and CEO of FirstLight. “Northfield Mountain is a fitting setting for this installation, as reaching Massachusetts’ goals of zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require contributions from a wide range of energy storage technologies – this will include large-scale, long-duration storage assets like Northfield Mountain, as well as promising new electric vehicle chargers like those being unveiled today.”
The installation of the charging stations is included in the series of new investments and partnerships FirstLight is undertaking in alignment with the 50th anniversary of the Northfield Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage Station.
FirstLight has a portfolio of over 1,400 MW of operating renewable energy and energy storage technologies, FirstLight specializes in hybrid solutions that pair hydroelectric, pumped-hydro storage, utility-scale solar, large-scale battery, and offshore wind assets.