How do wheeling charges work in schemes like this? If I have, for example, a fleet of EVs signed up for my VPP program and I want to sell battery power onto the open market I am putting a not insubstantial load on the local residential distribution systems that are not usually designed for this kind of power flow. Is this captured somehow in the financial model? Surely I don't get to ride that infrastructure for free?
EV charging and distribution is a big issue for the grid, because it does require a lot of investment in heavier infrastructure, literally more wires so that you can get enough power to charge your car. Grid operators are grumpy about needing to make this investment.
Networking all of the chargers / vehicles into a VPP, means you can actually defer some of that investment (don't have all the vehicles charge at the same time or at full speed if the local distribution is congested), or provide a valuable service to the grid in the form of demand response (Hey grid operator, this fleet of cars always charges between 5:30pm and 7pm. How much would you pay for 50 Megawatts of lower consumption?). So basically it makes it cheaper to charge that fleet of EVs from the grid infrastructure and operation perspective if you charge them smarter and make the whole system smarter.
The VPP operators use this as an additional revenue service for the actual asset. The grid is overall cheaper, and the VPP operator and asset owner get a cut of those savings.
> Grid operators are grumpy about needing to make this investment.
Boo fucking hoo. Grid operators have made absurd profits by running grids that hadn't seen an inspection crew for decades, to the tune that they regularly cause deadly wildfires. PG&E is particularly egregious here - the 2018 Camp Fire was likely caused by a broken C hook dating back to the line's construction in 1921 [1].
