Posted on by Californiacontrarian

EV’s … An Enemy From Within ?

Before I comment on what is perhaps the biggest threat to our Electric Grid, a few baseline comments.

The U.S. power grid involves a huge network of transmission lines, power plants, and distribution centers. The United States has three major grids: the eastern grid, the western grid, and the ERCOT grid, otherwise known as the Texas grid. Of the three, the eastern grid is the largest.

Are foreign hackers a threat to our power grid? … Absolutely! In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Russian hackers had hijacked the control rooms of various electric utilities. This allowed the hackers to disrupt power flows and cause blackouts.

However, Americans must concern themselves with more “benign” threats. A recent paper, published in Applied Energy, discussed the threat of EVs to the grid. Currently, there are 2.5 million EVs in the United States; 4 in 5 owners opt to charge their cars overnight. This decision, according to the researchers, is putting a considerable strain on power grids.

By 2025, the United States will have more than 20 million EVs on its roads. According to Bloomberg, by 2030, more than half of car sales will be electric. The strain is increasing, and power grids are ill-equipped to shoulder the load.

If Bloomberg’s projection proves to be correct, then, as the researchers note, it will take 5.4 gigawatts of energy storage to charge EVs. To put 5.4 gigawatts into perspective, one nuclear power plant produces 1 gigawatt of energy. The United States currently has 55 power plants. To facilitate the new EV revolution, the United States requires many more. 

Across the United States, as the author Ben Guess recently noted, there are currently 21 EVs per public charging port. By 2030, to keep up with EV purchasing trends, the United States must install almost 500 charging ports every day for the next eight years.

Does 500 per day sound realistic in any way? Obviously … No!

Are any of those who are dictating that EVs must be our future ever realistically consider the necessary charging stations, the necessary energy storage, or the potential friability of our present Electric Grid?

Hmmm … obviously not!

11/22/22

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