EV drivers using long-stay carparks could help power an entire city with green energy while offsetting parking fees, a new study has uncovered.

Airport car parks could play a massive role in creating a new green energy supply for the UK

Early research from ‘Park and Flex’ research carried out by UK Power Networks has found that more than 1.3 million homes could be powered by filling up electric cars’ batteries in long-stay car parks when energy is cheap and demand is low – for example during sunny days or windy nights – and injecting power back into the system at peak times using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging.

The potential of 4.3GW of flexible electricity demand could play a major role in helping London, the East and South East of England – the areas covered by the electricity distribution network operator – efficiently transition to a low carbon economy.

The study used advanced modelling alongside both UK Power Networks’ and energy specialist Baringa’s forecasts for the number of electric vehicles on Britain’s roads in the coming years.

Long-stay car parks such as airports were shown to offer increased benefits over shorter-term solutions such as hotels or supermarket car parks – with a customer’s flight dates able to denote the precise length of a vehicle’s stay, giving network operators greater insight into spare power or capacity they can call on at any time.

If rolled out across the 140,000 long-stay parking spaces in the areas served by UK Power Networks, it’s estimated £1.3bn in flexible energy savings could be made by 2050.

Ian Cameron, director of customer service and innovation at UK Power Networks, said: “Through Park and Flex, we foresee a world where dormant vehicles can be used as the building blocks for one of the UK’s biggest flex batteries. This dynamic battery, fuelled by thousands upon thousands of electric vehicles could play a massive role in creating a new green energy supply, and could do so without customers having to lift a finger.”

As the Park and Flex project continues, it will explore how such a new vision could be rolled out nationally and identify the customer incentives needed to make it happen.

The project is being developed alongside Fermata Energy and energy consultancy Baringa, supported by funding from Innovate UK’s Strategic Innovation Fund.

Tony Posawatz, CEO of Fermata Energy said: “With ramping sales of electric vehicles, gigawatts of energy storage capacity can be accessed with bi-directional (V2G) charging to support UK distribution networks during peak events.

“Airports have enormous public car parks and large electrical systems throughout. With thousands of vehicles parked for hours to days at a time, enormous value can be unlocked in key grid locations providing resilience and stability, while lowering costs.”