One of the most important technologies for a clean power grid is sitting idle in your garage.

That’s because electric cars aren’t just vehicles — they’re batteries as well. Unlocking their full potential could speed the integration of more wind and solar into the world’s electricity networks. Petty regulations, corporate timidity, and a shortage of key components are holding that back.

Tesla’s problems are not about supply. It’s demand.Credit: AP

Consider the example of California. The 7.3 gigawatts of huge, utility-scale batteries that energy companies have been adding in recent years have started nudging aside gas, traditionally the source of energy that was easiest to switch on and off during the grid’s daily peaks and troughs.

In the past, gas switched on en masse as the sun set and solar generation dwindled to nothing. This year it’s been running at something like half its previous levels. That appears to be because batteries are charging up on dirt-cheap midday solar power and discharging in the evening when electricity is most profitable — removing the need to switch on gas turbines.

What’s most remarkable is that all this has been achieved without tapping the state’s biggest resource of battery storage — electric cars. California’s 1.5 million EVs can provide roughly three times as much energy as its utility-scale batteries, but despite years of study the prospects of turning them into backup for the power network still seem remote.

EVs........

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