Generac Grid Services, a subsidiary of Generac Power Systems, a designer and manufacturer of energy technology solutions and other power products, has unveiled new electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for utilities and EV owners.
The offering, aimed at addressing the demands of utilities, uses Geotab telematics solutions to empower EV owners of most makes and models to take control of their vehicle charging, while providing utilities with monitoring data sent directly from a Geotab GO device that is installed in a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port.
EV drivers can access financial incentives by opting into various utility programs that use data streaming from the Geotab GO device. Data from the Geotab GO device, in turn, informs utility system planning, rate structures, regulatory requirements and verification of participation in smart-charging programs and events.
Generac Grid Services is leveraging its utility program design experience, including the use of Geotab telematics solutions, to provide a variety of offerings to support utilities at all stages of their EV strategy rollout – from monitoring to behavioral response, to smart charging, and ultimately advanced vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid solutions. For example, monitoring programs can harness charging data to aid grid planning and rate design efforts, and behavioral programs can combine charging data insights with strategic customer communications and incentives to influence long-term charging habits.
“EVs are already a critical distributed energy resource to shift load to capture low-carbon, clean energy and manage peak demand,” says Michael Goldman, director of business development and regulatory affairs at Generac Grid Services. “Their importance as a grid balancing lever will only increase as manufacturers scale EV production and local and federal efforts progress to decarbonize the transportation sector.”
In addition to now providing the vehicle-side data through Geotab telematics solutions, Generac Grid Services maintains relationships with EV charging station manufacturers to offer additional smart charging solutions. For example, Generac Grid Services sends a signal directly to EV chargers to tell them to start or stop charging, and works with charger manufacturers to be able to receive that signal from Generac’s real-time energy-balancing platform, Concerto. Combining both solution types, Generac delivers programming that supports major charging station providers and over 220 EV makes and models from all class sizes, including light- to heavy-duty electric vehicles.
“Geotab remains a leader in the connected vehicle industry by providing granular, secure, and reliable data captured from electric vehicles through its telematics solutions,” states Eric Mallia, vice president of sustainability solutions at Geotab. “We are delighted to support Generac Grid Services with our vehicle connectivity products for EV drivers and fleets to integrate with Generac’s platform and enable utilities to harmonize EV charging with other manageable loads.”