What an extremely well thought out discourse! Thank you!
The one critical element I see missing from all the rhetoric is the "almost always plugged in" concept. There are wireless game controllers that recharge when you set them on a charge pad. They don't need to actually plug in. Similarly, EVs can recharge inductively when parked above an inductive charge antenna pad in the parking spot.
With the grid, peak hour demand overwhelms the supply. Yet during off-peak hours, the power companies are forced to simply throw away excess generated energy. The subject of storing the excess becomes expensive, as it requires batteries (DC) to store the energy, then an inverter (AC) to put that energy back into the grid. A small upgrade to the standard EV charger can push energy either way -- from the grid to the vehicle, and from the vehicle to the grid. Ponder that for a moment.
If every EV is connected to the grid -- either through a plug or inductively -- when not being driven, then it becomes a ballast battery for the Grid! During peak hours most folks are at work; their vehicle sits in a parking spot. At night when the power companies are throwing energy away, most folks are home with their car in the garage (or other parking spot).
Using a clever accounting system, power companies can "borrow" energy from the millions of EVs parked & connected during peak usage hours, then pay it back at night when they would otherwise be throwing the electricity away. Furthermore, with carefully crafted marketing, the public would buy into the concept of getting their "fuel" at night when rates are lower, and always being connected.
I believe California can solve their grid issues without building even 1 more power plant by promoting EVs, but with the "almost always plugged in" concept. If you're not driving, you're connected to the grid. Of course the OEM EV manufacturers would need to be able to provide state-of-charge information through a standard communications protocol for the grid to query. In other words, it would have to be a concerted effort between OEMs and power companies (and probably legislators) to implement, but more EVs mean more back-up batteries for the grid.
