Winemaker Uses Nissan Leaf’s V2G Feature To Make Some Extra Cash

Who doesn’t like a story about saving money?

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Jan 3, 2023 at 9:34am ET

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With annual electricity bills adding up to around $6,000 (Australian), one man sought to cut costs drastically for his home and winemaking business.

Joseph Evans, who owns a vineyard in the Australian Barossa Valley, took his first steps in lowering electricity costs when he installed a rooftop solar system that could power his property during daylight hours. This removed $4,000 from his annual power bill basically overnight.

But this wasn’t enough, as the end goal was to bring electricity invoices to zero – or even better, get some money out of it.

So, with South Australia approving the first batch of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charger installations, Evans became one of the first people in the land Down Under to inject power back into the national grid using his Nissan Leaf and its 40 kWh battery pack.

With this clever use of his EV, the winemaker managed to gain a weekly profit of around $50, which amounts to over $2,500 per year.

“What’s even better is the fact that, while fuel and electricity prices are only heading in one direction — and that direction is up — my costs are fixed, and fixed at zero. Instead of paying for my power, I’m getting paid for my power,“ said the owner of the 10-acre vineyard.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that the Nissan Leaf has been available with V2G or bidirectional charging since 2013 but lacked an official charger until September 2022.

According to the official story on Nissan Australia’s website, the winemaker uses his Leaf to deliver wine bottles to local restaurants in Adelaide, before recharging through his solar panels. Then, he plugs the car into his V2G charger and uses the energy stored in the battery to power his property for the night, and charges it again in the morning from the rooftop solar panels.

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This way, his energy needs are fully covered, and at the end of the week, his smartphone app tells him that he has to receive money from his electricity supplier, as opposed to how much money he has to pay.

What’s your take on this – does it make sense to invest in solar panels and a car with V2G capability? Let us know in the comments.