In Bangladesh, Rickshaw VPPs Are The Latest Energy Innovation

Electric three wheelervehicles have become one of the crucial engines for the surge of EVs worldwide, especially in Asian markets, such as India, China, and Bangladesh. For instance, Bangladesh today has more EVs on the road than Tesla has sold globally to date, as per a white paper named “The Rickshaw VPP” by a climate-tech company, SOLshare, located in the heart of Bangladesh. SOLshare briefs about how Riskshaw Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) can play a crucial role in promoting the e-rickshaw market in the South Asian nation.

The global electric three-wheeler market size was valued at USD 0.77 Billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 1.5 Billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7 per cent from 2022 to 2031, as per one Bloomberg Report. The need for cheap transportation and logistics is the main reason for the popularity of electric rickshaws. A cutting-edge technology like rickshaw VPP would further endorse the Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) segment, in a market that’s already clocking impressive growth. To take just one possible example, Jeepney’s- the favoured mode of local transport in the Phillipines, for example, contribute almost 15% of that nation’s transportation emissions. Imagine the impact of electrifying these, and to top it all, turning them into VPPs!

What is a Rickshaw Virtual Power Plant?

Rickshaw VPP (Virtual Power Plant) is a system that connects and manages multiple individual rickshaws as part of a larger energy network. A virtual power plant is a cloud-based energy management system that remotely controls and optimizes distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, and in this case, rickshaws, to collectively function as a single, coordinated power plant.

Rickshaws, which are small, human-powered vehicles used for transportation in many parts of the world, can be electrified by adding electric motors and batteries, thereby becoming electric rickshaws or e-rickshaws. These e-rickshaws can be connected to a virtual power plant, which can serve as a decentralized energy storage and generation source.

Utility

The virtual power plant can manage the charging and discharging of the e-rickshaw batteries, aggregating their capacity and optimizing their energy usage based on demand, grid conditions, and other factors. This allows the e-rickshaws to not only provide transportation services but also function as a distributed energy resource, contributing to the stability and resilience of the electricity grid and supporting renewable energy integration.

The VPP will allow the e-rickshaw owner to sell the extra energy to the grid, still stored in the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery, at a higher price when demand on the grid is high. Similarly, the EV owner can buy energy back from the grid at a lower rate (super offpeak rate).

The SOLshare paper notes that at the end of a driver’s day, an estimated 25% – 30% charge is left on lithium-ion batteries. Using VPP, the vehicle can be used to sell that extra electricity to the grid during evening peak demand hours and bought back later in the night when the grid faces less pressure. The driver can fully charge his vehicle at night at a rate much cheaper than at which he would sell again at the next peak demand time. He’ll end up earning extra income while also stabilising the grid at peak hours and helping solve the issue of even load shedding.

Mechanisms and Impact on Transmission & Distribution Systems

A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) serves as a control bridge that connects the national transmission level to the local low-voltage distribution system. It aggregates diverse types of resources, such as generation, storage, and load assets, to provide a comprehensive view of their combined capabilities. This aggregated visibility is crucial for enabling various services.

One of the key benefits of a VPP is that it offers grid operators a holistic understanding of the aggregate load. Additionally, it provides precise information about specific distribution lines, known as feeders. Unlike conventional load-shedding approaches that consider only the sanctioned load, a VPP takes into account the real-time actual load. This enhanced visibility of the actual load enables more connections to stay online during periods of low load and also allows feeders with renewable energy feed-in points to remain connected, thereby promoting increased renewable energy integration into the grid.

Affordability is another merit of  VPPs. Participating in VPPs (Virtual Power Plants) benefits homes and businesses through direct compensation. VPPs also reduce wholesale energy and fuel costs by shifting demand to low- or no-marginal-cost resources, instead of high-cost peaking resources.

Are VPPs Optimizing DERs the Future?

With the increasing prevalence of distributed energy resources (DERs) and variable renewables in today’s energy landscape, the grids designed in the 20th century are facing challenges. These grids were primarily designed for a time when DERs had a small share in electricity production. However, with the growing contribution of variable renewables, such as solar and wind power, to the electricity mix, there is a need for greater system flexibility to effectively balance the supply and demand of electricity. This balancing act must be achieved over short timescales and longer durations such as seasons.

Rickshaw VPP of Bangladesh is just one example which may widen the use of electric rickshaws from being just a transport service provider to much more. Virtual power plants (VPPs) can optimise the aggregation of distributed resources across large areas by using advanced data analytics such as machine learning. However, policy and regulatory issues are considered to be the main barriers to wider VPP deployment.