The California Senate recently approved legislation under which all new electric vehicles sold in California by 2030 would be required to come equipped with bidirectional charging.
The bill, SB 233, is sponsored by California State Sen. Nancy Skinner.
California is projected to have at least 8 million EVs on the road by 2030. Currently, many EVs on the market already have bidirectional charging, including the Nissan Leaf, which is one of the most affordable EVs available.
In addition, Tesla plans to equip all of its EVs with bidirectional charging by 2025. Some automakers, including Ford, with its F-150 Lightning pickup truck, are now aggressively marketing the capability of EVs to power homes, Skinner’s office noted.
“With bidirectional charging, an EV owner would be able to reduce their electricity bills by using their EV battery to power their homes during those times when electricity demand and energy rates are their highest. EV owners could then recharge their battery during non-peak hours when rates are lower, including during the day when solar power is plentiful,” a news release from Skinner’s office said.
The legislation now goes to the state Assembly for consideration.
