A future role for electric vehicles as a major source of electricity storage capacity got a boost last week with regulatory approval of three California grid integration projects, totalling US$11.7 million.

The first pilot will support adoption of bidirectional charging technologies for 1,000 single-family residential customers, Utility Dive reports. The second will target commercial fleet owners and include more than 200 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

The third will involve up to 200 residential and commercial EVs, in combination with solar power, in a microgrid designed to keep electricity supplied to communities affected by wildfire outages.

In addition to providing backup power, grid integration of EVs can defer distribution upgrades and provide revenue to EV customers, the news story states. And while EV batteries are expensive, they’re “already bought and paid for as a means of mobility,” said Zach Woogen of the Vehicle Grid Integration Council. “As a customer, you’re able to leverage an embedded cost and unlock latent battery capacity to squeeze additional value out of your fleet or vehicle.”