In the driver’s seat: Generac charging solutions
Generac Grid Services, a subsidiary of Generac Power Systems, unveiled electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions for utilities and EV owners.
The offering, said the firm, uses Geotab telematics solutions to empower EV owners of most makes and models to take control of their vehicle charging, while providing utilities with valuable monitoring data sent directly from a Geotab GO device that is installed in a vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port.
“EVs are already a critical distributed energy resource to shift load to capture low-carbon, clean energy and manage peak demand,” said 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,” said Goldman.
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.
“Our vehicle connectivity products for EV drivers and fleets integrate with Generac’s platform and enable utilities to harmonize EV charging with other manageable loads,” said Eric Mallia, vice president of sustainability solutions at Geotab.
Generac Grid Services said it is leveraging its extensive 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, the company said, “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.”
Generac Grid Services maintains relationships with EV charging station manufacturers to offer additional smart charging solutions.
In another 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.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Oakville, Canada, Geotab Inc. provides telematics hardware solutions which it presents as Internet of Things devices.
Waukesha, Wisconsin-based Generac, founded in 1959, is a manufacturer of backup power generation products for residential, light commercial and industrial markets.