Driving Toward the VGI Market Inflection Point
By Zach Woogen & Shannon McGuire
At the turn of 2023, the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council (VGIC) knew it would be a transformative year for the organization and the VGI ecosystem. Thanks in part to the tireless efforts of the VGIC membership and our team, 2023 has exceeded all expectations.
VGIC continued our high operating pace by submitting nearly 50 unique regulatory filings to shape the VGI market through in-depth policy advocacy, while also growing and strengthening our industry and educational efforts. The VGIC team hosted, moderated, and was featured on dozens of speaking engagements this year, including our Triple Crown VGI: Optimizing EV Charging with Solar Power and Energy Storage webinar, the NARUC Summer Policy Summit, EV Charging Summit & Expo, ACT Expo, Forth Roadmap, two V2G Business, Policy, and Technology Forums, and many more. The rich conversations helped to deepen connectivity and understanding among key stakeholders and added to the construction of a critical industry foundation to expand VGI opportunities for our members and unlock value for EV fleets and drivers.
VGIC was one of nine partnerships propelling the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle-to-Everything Memorandum of Understanding or “V2X MOU” through 2023. This forum is an important means to build momentum in the ecosystem, pushing us closer to our goal of a clean energy future powered by EVs.
Further, VGIC hit an important milestone of hosting more than 40 members, nearly double the number in 2022. VGIC hosted our Annual Member Meeting in Detroit earlier this fall, convening VGIC’s membership to strategize and dive deep into the issues that matter most. Members and staff identified key policy barriers and goals for 2024 and, through topic-specific breakout groups, developed strategies to address them. The Annual Member Meeting also played host to two excellent panels.
During the “Mapping VGI Market Challenges and Growth Potential” panel, leading utilities shared their initiatives and questions about managed charging program design, bidirectional charger interconnection, telematics and submetering, and automated load management solutions. VGIC also moderated a panel with foremost VGI decision-makers on how to “Unlock EV Flexibility Through Virtual Power Plants,” where the conversation ranged from utility regulatory reform and planning initiatives to technical standardization and industry coordination.
The culmination of our previous years’ efforts resulted in several key policy wins for VGIC in 2023, including ensuring VGIC’s adaptive load management (ALM) proposals were adopted in New York, preserving favorable terms for VGI within California’s Emergency Load Reduction Program, advancing submetering and telematics implementation throughout the country, and widely disseminating best practices for V2X Bidirectional Charging Interconnection and Service Connection. These policy wins represent the scaffolding for a range of commercial opportunities open to VGI solutions, including for light-duty passenger EVs, light-duty fleets, and medium- and heavy-duty fleets.
These developments come at a critical time for the market, as solution providers are moving swiftly to standardize their product and service offerings, prioritize investment in first mover markets like California and New York, and scale operations to grow beyond the pilot stage of the industry.
As we move into 2024, VGIC is eager to grow its impact through increased education, unique collaborations with decision-makers and market makers, and targeted policy advocacy.