CONSUMER REPORTS: Can the Grid Handle EVs? Yes!
They should really study this series: The EV transition at scale poses daunting challenges
Dear Chris,
The answer in your blog is incorrect. It is predicated on:
"...Americans
drive approximately 2.9 trillion miles a year,..." and "...The
average efficiency of all 20 comes to 3.1 miles per kilowatt
hour. "
Totals and
averages can be grossly misleading and this is the case here.
Total power generation capacity may match total EV KWh demand over the course of a year. But this totally ignores diurnal patterns and Peak Demand periods! The grid often has a hard time providing enough power for the usual demands plus a/c on hot and humid days.
Some locations have spare capacity, some are nearly maxed out (California, Hawaii, many others), and the US grid is far from being interconnected to cover demand deficits.
This question can be answered with reasonable confidence only at the local/regional level based on historical patterns of daily KWh consumption, along with specific forecasts of EV in traffic by type... car, SUV, pickup, delivery truck, long distance truck.
-- Panos D. Prevedouros, PhD Reno, Nevada Past Chairman and Professor Emeritus Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Hawaii at Mānoa
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