The Threat And Opportunity From Transportation Electrification

Influx of Electric Vehicles Accelerates Need for Grid Planning; For grid reliability, PNNL study shows advance planning and smart EV charging strategies could help cities and utilities smooth out the duck curve and avoid costly new infrastructure

Kintner-Meyer, Sarah Davis, Dhruv Bhatnagar, Sid Sridhar, Malini Ghosal, and Shant Mahserejian, July 29, 2020 (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

“…[A new study integrates multiple factors not evaluated before about] the capacity of the power grid in the western U.S. over the next decade as growing fleets of EVs of all sizes, including trucks, plug into charging stations at homes and businesses and on transportation routes…[T]hrough 2028, the overall power system, from generation through transmission, looks healthy up to 24 million EVs—about 9% of the current light-duty vehicle traffic in the United States…[At about 30 million EVs, issues may arise because] current grid planning doesn’t adequately account for a mass influx of EVs…[on] system operations…Smart charging strategies—avoiding charging during peak hours in the morning and early evening—can smooth out demand peaks…

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[I]t would take advantage of relatively clean solar power during the day…[and] reduce or eliminate the sharp ramps in the evening when solar power fades and other sources kick in to make up the difference…[The study] included a mix of light- (passenger), medium- (delivery trucks and vans) and heavy- (semis and cargo) duty vehicles on the road—the first time all three vehicle classes have been included in such an analysis…[It also included] a transportation model for freight on the road, with charging stations on interstate freeways every 50 miles for all three vehicle classes…Bottlenecks due to new EV charging appeared the most in areas of California, including Los Angeles, which plans to go all-electric with its city fleet by 2030. The pinch came from the growth of fast-charging cars and commercial fleets of electric trucks…[S]maller cities with limited resources need help planning for their charging infrastructure and hosting capacity…” click here for more

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