THE rise of electric cars could pave the way for more renewable energy developments, according to an expert in the field.

Paul Reynolds, an analyst with Fife consultancy Everoze, will speak in Glasgow this week about how electric vehicles (EVs), married to a “smart” electricity system, could help meet the UK’s climate-change targets.

Speaking in advance of the event, he said: “It’s time to stop thinking of electric cars as just cars – they are far more than that. The electricity industry and its regulators have started viewing EVs as powerful batteries on wheels, which opens up a whole new dimension to the way drivers will use them as well as the wider benefits they can bring to society.”

An increase in the number of EVs on the roads could initially present issues for the national grid, as large numbers of people come home from work and plug in their car to charge, experts have warned.

But Reynolds says those could be soon outweighed by the opportunities offered by a growing army of “batteries on wheels”.

He said: “Renewable energy sources like wind and solar provide power when the weather is right.

“Although we can now forecast those times far more accurately than ever before, there are instances when there is not enough generation from renewable sources to meet demand.

“EVs which are plugged into the grid to charge can, with the right technology in place, be called upon at those times and actually discharge some of the energy in their batteries back onto the system, ‘balancing’ supply and demand.

“This can be done with almost no impact on the driver - all that is needed is a couple of clicks on a simple app that specify how much charge they need at the end of the day.

“The benefits to the electricity system as a whole from doing this with a large number of cars would be enormous.

“At the moment, we rely to some extent on old, dirty fossil fuel plants to provide that balancing service, but if enough EVs were connected we could start to close down those plants.

“We would be in a position to call on the electricity produced by wind, solar and other renewables whenever we wanted, rather than just when the wind was blowing or the sun was shining.”

Figures from Everoze suggest a car plugged in for 65% of the time with a state-of-the-art two-way charger could earn roughly £500 a year under this system.

Mr Reynolds will speak at industry body Scottish Renewables’ second storage & systems conference at Glasgow Caledonian University on Wednesday.

Michael Rieley, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: “New technology like battery storage will increasingly enable us to get the most out of renewable energy generation and balance supply and demand to keep the system running smoothly.”