Is nuclear power required to switch over to EVs? Securing the stability of the grid also requires a huge investment in energy storage, which can help provide energy during peak demand times. Vehicle-grid integration (VGI) refers to technologies, policies, and strategies for electric vehicle (EV) charging which alter the time, power level, or location of the charging (or discharging) in a manner that benefits the grid while still meeting drivers mobility needs. Meeting the goals California has set in terms of electric vehicle use will require significant infrastructure investments and a recalibration of how and when vehicle owners use energy so they can avoid steep utility bills and help protect the state's power grid. Even after a battery no longer meets the needs of a car, however, it can still store enough energy to be useful on the electric grid. If climate change activists are correct and the temperature continues to tick up, wouldnt the extra burden of having to charge millions of EVs cripple an already-strained electric system? Currently, there are about 635,000 electric vehicles registered in An upgraded, level two charger can take four to ten hours, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In a news release, the California ISO said it expects that it will issue calls for voluntary conservation of electricity through Flex alerts over the long weekend. With 15 times more electric cars expected on Californias roads by 2035, the amount of power they consume will grow exponentially. Background. The claim that California told electric vehicle owners to not charge their cars because of a power shortage is FALSE. California isnt backing down from this challenge because the health of our communities and planet is at stake. Its best-case.. One method is called vehicle-to-grid integration, where energy can be reabsorbed by the grid when the vehicle is parked. That brings me back to the states (and countrys) energy grid. One might ask: why is the US able to quickly build gas pipelines but not high voltage transmission lines? heatwave in California. The Navy has not been spared either. Right now, theres no one who can give you a definitive answer. Ive seen a bit of caution approaching these things because batteries on wheels are not something utilities have really worked on before.. (Photo by Frederic J. It was just last week that the California Air Resources Board approved regulations that would likely result in electric cars eventually being the only viable option in the state. Even as hard as this is going to be, I have a lot of optimism that we can pull it off.. "During a Flex Alert, consumers are urged to reduce energy use from 4-9 p.m. when the system is most stressed because demand for electricity remains high and there is less solar energy available," the release said. EV switchover will work only if households can charge their cars 24X7. Benefits for the environment: V2G technology can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing the grid to rely more on renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, and reducing the need for fossil fuel-powered peaker plants. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, California Heat Wave Update as Record Temperatures Could Cause Blackouts, Traffic moves along Highway 101 on August 24, 2022 in Mill Valley, California, state regulators voted on a plan to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. The early majority phase is past the so-called chasm, Rogerss word for the critical tipping point that separates early adopters and everyone else. That could supply electricity for 25 million homes. At the zip code level, for every additional 20 ZEVs per 1,000 people, there was a 3.2% drop in the rate of asthma-related emergency visits and a small suggestive reduction in NO2 levels. Even so, he said he is optimistic the state can adapt over the next decade. ", She reiterated the importance of making sure electric vehicle infrastructure is in place for all communities, regardless of home ownership. To speed clean energy projects, Newsom and the Legislature enacted a controversial new law allowing state agencies to usurp control from local governments for siting solar, wind and some battery backup projects. California Energy Commission We have confidence now that electricity will meet future demand and were able to plan for it, said Quentin Gee, a California Energy Commission supervisor who forecasts transportation energy demand. ", Even after heavy usage in cars, the batteries can often hold a significant amount of charge. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). A new state mandate requires 60% of Californias power supply to come from renewables by 2030 nearly double the amount of 2022. A standard level 2 charger could cost between $7,000 to $11,000, while direct fast charging costs about $100,000 to $120,000 each, according to the California Energy Commission. We dont want people to be confused or lose confidence that the utility is going to be able to meet their needs.. California's power operator wants residents to avoid charging electric vehicles at certain hours through Labor Day to ease the stress on the power grid amid extreme heat and high demand. That inherently limits the benefits to people who have enough income to not only buy an electric vehicle but also live in a home with a garage. The project, which will break ground early next year and be completed in 2024, is expected to generate an incredible 13 gigawatts (GW) of power, which is equal to one sixth of the states current electricity capacity. By 2030, about 1.2 million chargers will be needed for 8 million vehicles, according to a state report. My thoughts: We can see the terrible impact of climate change from droughts and rampaging wildfires in western states to increasingly frequent tropical storms and hurricanes in coastal and eastern states, as well as freak storms such as the hurricane-force derecho that tore through Iowa in August. The aerial view of a solar farm in Simi Valley is photographed in California. While electric vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce California's greenhouse gas emissionsmore than half of the state's carbon pollution currently comes from transportation, according to Newsom's officetheir use is expected to place pressure on California's power grid. During the day, the Lancaster, Calif. facility's batteries are charged up by nearby solar panels. They describe it as more of a growing pain as the state increases renewable energy than a fatal flaw. To encourage daytime charging, Victor said the state must drastically boost the number of fast chargers and workplace stations. So the company expects to get significant use from them before they're sent on for recycling. To work in a car, the batteries need to be able to meet certain standards in terms of capacity and rate of discharge, but that performance declines with use. Thats well above the median U.S. ratio of 14 EVs per port. The construction of the North Sea Super Grid is the major step towards meetingthe future demand for electric power transmission in northern Europe. Roadshow, What are your wishes for improving traffic? The California ISO and Newsom's office have been contacted for further comment. This means that political optics are important especially for signature liberal issue such as EVs. As California rapidly boosts sales of electric cars and trucks over the next decade, the answer to a critical question remains uncertain: Will there be enough electricity to power them? Shares of First Solar are up more than 55% year-to-date, and up 25% over the past 30 days alone. She added that the vehicle-to-grid could, as a concept, be a little speedier. Powering a single home, however, is easier: The building would simply need to be wired in a way that shuts it off from the larger grid when its receiving power from the car, which is probably why the GM-PG&E pilot is focusing on home backup power. Weve got kegerator space; weve got a retractable awning because (its the best kept secret) Seattle actually gets a lot of sun; weve got a mini-fridge to chill that ros; weve got BBQ grills, fire pits, and even Belgian heaters. Below we highlight two challenges to EV mandates: creating new transmission capacity and hesitancy about nuclear power (for charging stations, a third bottleneck in the EV rollout, see here). (How much is a megawatt? Gasoline car owners drive up to gas stations anytime to fuel up. All rights reserved. This story was first published in the Recode newsletter. With 15 times more electric cars expected on Californias roads by 2035, the amount of power they consume will grow exponentially. But zero emission generation is only half the story in the climate puzzle. Wind power tends to be stronger in the ocean than on land, making it valuable during times when renewables like traditional wind and solar cant produce enough energy. Part of the issue is that the grid might not be ready for energy to flow in the opposite direction than it normally does. ", Newsom said the $10 billion the state was investing in making the transition would make it "easier and cheaper for all Californians to purchase electric cars.". 715 P Street But this raises another problem: For your electric vehicle to power your home in a blackout, you need to be able to plug your car into your home likely through a charger located in a garage or carport. That price difference is likely to shrink over time as the demand for electric vehicles grows and the market thus becomes more competitive, Monahan said. Here are some insightful pieces of information about V2G: Overall, V2G technology has the potential to transform the way we consume and generate energy, and to provide a range of benefits for the environment, EV owners, and the energy grid. Its still a program thats only accessible by a lot of high-income residents, Baker explained. Still, he said, new generation, energy storage, distribution systems and transmission lines will take substantial time to deploy. Experts say Californias power grid can comfortably support up to 5 million electric cars on the road. A driver passes an electric vehicle charging station in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 2021. These numbers fall short of the states goal of 250,000 chargers by 54,000 installations. Financial incentives for EV owners: V2G technology can also provide financial incentives for EV owners, who can sell excess electricity stored in their vehicles back to the grid during times of high demand, earning money in the process. Download Free PDF Sample: http://bit.ly/3IHAOK7. Will it be able to support millions more electric vehicles? Photo by David Goldman, AP Photo. Ultimately the state aims to produce at least 25 gigawatts from offshore wind by 2045 the boldest commitment any state has made. By 2030, about 1.2 million chargers will be needed for 8 million vehicles, according to a state report. To make the evolution to zero-emission vehicles successful, California must have a robust charging infrastructure. Yet if all Californians bought E.V.s tomorrow, it would be a nightmare for the state's power grid. Bidirectional charging power flowing out of a car battery as well as into it has been part of Fords marketing for its electric F-150 lightning since the truck was announced in May 2021, and PG&E previously worked with BMW to test ways EVs could support the grid. "You want to make sure that you're balancing the amount of energy that comes onto the grid versus the energy that's coming off the grid," Moniot said. General Motors and Pacific Gas and Electric this week announced a joint pilot program to test ways GMs electric vehicles could help the California utilitys customers keep the lights on, either by providing backup power to homes during blackouts or feeding energy back into the grid when demand is especially high. That means utility companies would probably need to invest in replacing components, like transformers, so they can handle power flowing in both directions. The federal government has established a $6 billion program to help avoid premature retirements of nuclear reactors across the country. Bill Gates Terra Power is working on a new Natrium design which can reduce the costs of nuclear energy. At the moment, the state has among the worst EV-to-charger port ratios in the nation, with more than 27 plug-in vehicles per charging port. But many people dont have unrestricted access to chargers at their jobs or homes. The two groups project nationwide solar deployment to increase by as much as 40% over the next five years (2023 2027), even as the industry will remain supply-constrained through the end of 2023. Adam Stern, executive director of the industry group Offshore Wind California, said the planning and regulatory process alone could take five to six years. If uninterrupted electricity is essential for a smooth transition to EVs, the US should seriously evaluate building up nuclear capacity, or at least extending the life of existing nuclear reactors after appropriate permitting by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. California has about 838,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids. But in setting those projections, the state agencies responsible for providing electricity the California Energy Commission, the California Independent System Operator and the California Public Utilities Commission and utility companies are relying on multiple assumptions that are highly uncertain. Could this be done? Theres no good way to send power from public charging spots back into, say, an apartment, and its hard enough to figure out how to send energy from public chargers back into the grid at large. We need to bridge the gap in electric vehicle charging or we wont meet our goals for zeroing out harmful pollution from transportation. Many experts believe that electric vehicles won't be a drag on America's electric grid. Instead, they'll be a benefit. By leveraging an EVs battery capacity to provide power back to the grid when demand is high, EVs can improve our grid's resilience. "Can the grid survive without EVs?" says Allen. But most chargers are a lot slower: A level one charger, often supplied by manufacturers, could take between 40 to 50 hours to fully charge an empty battery. Last week, a company called B2U Storage Solutions announced that it had started operations at a 25 Megawatt-hour battery facility in California. To see them put time and resources into a project makes me hopeful, said Samantha Houston, a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The consequences of climate change are inequitable, and economically disadvantaged communities are going to bear the brunt of the pain. FOLSOM, Calif. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, for today, Aug. 31 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., due to high temperatures pushing up energy demand and tightening available power supplies. Temperatures as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) were forecast in some Los Angeles suburbs as a huge heat dome bakes a swathe of the western United States. The top conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher to reduce air conditioner use, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights, it said. Assemblymember Luz Rivas, a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, said low-income communities near the gas plants will continue to suffer the most if the state keeps extending their retirement dates. The construction of the North Sea Super Grid is the major step towards meetingthe future demand for electric power transmission in northern Europe. SACRAMENTO New analysis from the California Energy Commission (CEC) shows the state will need nearly 1.2 million public and shared chargers by 2030 to meet Combined, nuclear power and natural gas provide nearly half of the total electricity consumed in California. To meet these goals, the lead commissioner on clean transportation at the California Energy Commission (CEC), Patty Monahan, estimated 8 million electric cars Build 15 times more public chargers: About 1.2 million chargers will be needed for the 8 million electric cars expected in California by 2030. Also, the state is requiring utilities to provide more battery storage so that solar power can be preserved as the sun goes down and used later. However, there are also significant technological challenges that must be overcome before the full potential of this technology can be realized. Smashed minivan adds to San Jose neighborhoods frustration, concerns about safety: Roadshow, Is there a different reason for debris problem on 101 that cant be swept away? "We're in the early days of the end-of-life EV batteries being available," Hall said. The cost of producing the energy averages about $84 per megawatt-hour, more than most other sources of energy, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Governors proposed 202122 budget includes $500 million to help fill the gap and ensure essential infrastructure arrives as more Californians go electric. Of course, one might argue that utility level centralized battery storage will allow wind and solar to supply electricity 24/7. While the performance will continue to degrade over time, grid-level power storage doesn't require the rapid charge or discharge behavior that puts the most stress on the battery's capacity. Whats Next For Keurig Dr Pepper Stock After A Mixed Q4? Californias power grid operators have asked the states residents to conserve electricity in order to put less strain on the power grid amid a major heat wave. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? Google Pay. The heatwave continues. The technology is still in the early stages, has not been tested with other electric vehicles and its unclear when it will be ready. Californians were told August 31, 2022 not to charge their electric vehicles during peak hours, just days after the state said it would stop selling gas-powered cars, as the aging electricity grid struggles with a fearsome heatwave. Its going to require a lot of coordination and a lot of investment and a lot of collaboration across different types of stakeholders, government industry, non-governmental organizations and labor unions.. Findings underscore importance of public investments, grid integration. California wants to achieve net zero emissions in its electricity sector by 2045. EV owners would probably expect the same: charge their cars at their convenience. But experts say GMs size and electric vehicle ambitions mean its pilot with PG&E has the potential to be a big deal, and could be the first real test case of the vehicle-to-grid idea. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. She said many disadvantaged communities across the state bear the brunt of impacts of pollution from fossil fuels and climate changes extreme heat. Now Meta and Twitter want your money, too. "They're engineered for very demanding use cases, and the use case in stationary storage is far less demanding.". Thats a behavioral and technological question that we really dont know the answers to, Victor said. Californias numerous Flex Alerts remind us that policy initiatives, such as permitting reforms and supporting nuclear energy, both historically unpopular with climate groups, might be required to relieve supply bottlenecks in generation and transmission. These deep ocean waters have the potential to produce more than 4.5 gigawatts, enough to power about 1.5 million homes. Current offshore wind turbines off the East Coast are fixed to the ocean floor in shallow waters. 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