Take-up of Electric Vehicle
Electric vehicles are coming – worldwide growth rates are picking up with China leading the world. However the implications for smart cities, in terms of increased electricity demand, smart grid infrastructure and CO2 abatement are not as simple as you’d think.
As shown below (From EV columes.com), global monthly sales are now at 70,000 vehicles. Not a lot compared to global sales of regular cars, but it’s now significant and growing rapidly.
The main driver of growth is China – with a rapid growth spurt in the first half of 2016. However Europe and the US are growing steadily with Europe outpacing the USA by 25%.
Canada doesn’t do so well, total plug-in is less than 25,000 across Canada, with only Quebec, Ontario and BC having significant sales.
Impact on overall electricity usage
For many people, there is an assumption that electric vehicles will require a significant update of the overall generation capacity, however studies have shown that the impact on Load, ie the amount of extra energy load placed on the grid is only 7% at 30% penetration rate of EV. This type of extra load is not considered significant and most first world systems would have no real problem absorbing this extra load.
One caveat is that although this load – when taken as an average – will not require significant upgrade of the generation capaicity, it will require upgrades of the local grid. EVs put a load of, on average an extra 54% on a household – because they are often charging when the normal load is low. This type of load, especially if several
households in a block charge at the same time, will require upgrades to the local grid infrastructure.
households in a block charge at the same time, will require upgrades to the local grid infrastructure.
No comments:
Post a Comment