Your next emergency generator could already be sitting in the driveway

In Arrowtown, the town's Emergency Operations Centre can now draw power from compatible electric vehicles, adding another layer of backup power if the electricity network is disrupted.

It's part of a wider project being led through the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator, which is running New Zealand's first community-scale vehicle-to-grid trial.

The idea is surprisingly simple. Most of the time, we think of EVs as vehicles that consume electricity. But they're also big batteries on wheels. Vehicle-to-grid technology allows that stored energy to flow the other way when it's needed, helping power homes, buildings or critical services.

For a district that lives with the realities of wildfire, severe weather and earthquake risk, that's a pretty interesting proposition. The average new electric vehicle carries enough stored energy to power a typical household for three to four days; a potential backup power source when it's needed most.

Resilience isn't just about having a generator in the shed or an emergency kit in the cupboard. It's about having options. The more ways a community can access power during an emergency, the better equipped it is when things don't go according to plan.

And the implications stretch well beyond emergencies.

Every day, thousands of EVs sit parked in driveways, garages and workplace carparks across the district. Most are carrying far more stored energy than they use on an average trip. Looking ahead, those batteries could become part of a smarter, more flexible energy system, helping support the electricity network at times of peak demand and potentially reducing power costs for owners at the same time.

The technology is still emerging, but the idea is a powerful one.

The same battery that gets you to work, takes the kids to sport or powers a weekend road trip could one day help support your home, your community or a critical response centre when it's needed most.

That's a very different way of thinking about a car.

Find out more

Visit the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator Vehicle-to-Grid Trial webpage to learn how the project is exploring new ways to improve energy security, reduce costs and support community resilience.

Photo credit: Rewiring Aotearoa