What’s the story?
By 2022 electric vehicles (EVs) will be cheaper than regular cars, according to new research. Living in Abu Dhabi, where a couple years ago it cost less than $25 to fill up an entire tank of petrol, one could almost have missed the rise of EVs. No Leafs, Bolts or Volts on the roads here. The odd Tesla Model X, but that’s it.
It might therefore be surprising to see the UAE rank in the top 5 countries with the highest EV charger density*. The UAE is on a drive to increase adoption of electric vehicles. The Dubai government has put in place incentives, including free charging, free parking and no tolls.
When even the most oil dependent economies are heavily promoting EV use, you know the switch-over is a matter of time.
How does this impact the electrical grids?
Yesterday, I put off watching one of the most epic and long-awaited GoT episodes. Instead, I first spent the evening exploring the impact of EVs on utility grids. Turns out it’s really rather fascinating. (And, according to some at least, better than the GoT episode). The prospect of millions of cars charging every day is a potential cause for concern for utility companies. Effective grid management becomes key.
The issue isn’t so much at the overall, total level. EV adoption will happen gradually and there is enough slack in the system to accommodate the increased demand. The issue is at the local level, in individual neighborhoods. Here, local transformers turn high voltage into the lower voltage used in households. If these transformers are pushed beyond their capacity, problems can occur.
Fixing or upgrading is expensive, both from a capital expenditure and operational cost point of view. A single EV can add the equivalent of three houses to the grid. Adoption furthermore is currently clustered in specific areas. It’s therefore not hard to imagine imminent issues at the local level..
Turning concerns into opportunities
That is, until the realization that you can flip the problem completely on its head. Instead of thinking of the EV as solely a consumer of electricity, think of it as a modulator of electricity demand. Or even a store of electricity.
Before getting there, it is key to note that energy demand is not flat throughout the day. It peaks at certain times, for instance when people return home from work, and is low at other times. Because electricity isn’t easily stored, utility companies switch off production at night. This switching off and on costs money. Utility companies would benefit from a way to flatten the electricity consumption throughout the day and night. Dynamic load management means smart grid management.
As a result, utility companies are actually providing incentives to EV users. Seeing as most EV users are happy to charge slowly overnight, they can generate demand during this off peak period.
This can also provide a boost for renewable energy. The sun shines during the day and there if generally more wind during the night. EV charge timing can be aligned with the availability of renewable energy.
EVs as decentralized stores of electricity
The next step is to consider EVs as decentralized stores of electricity. New technology called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) allows vehicles to feed excess electrical capacity to the grid. And it doesn’t need to be limited to feeding back to the grid. Excess electricity could power a remote mountain cabin. It could be used to power floodlights for a football pitch. Or a sound and light system at a desert rave.
Renewable energy does not get depleted. The sun isn’t going to burn out anytime soon. The wind isn’t going to stop blowing and water isn’t going to stop flowing. EVs could provide a massive, mobile, decentralized electricity storage network. Market places could be formed to connect net consumers of electricity with those with spare capacity.
People willing to take lower priority in charging could be subsidized by those requiring higher priority. The booming sharing economy provides ample examples of new business opportunities where everyone benefits.
Where to from here?
These changes and opportunities for grid management can all easily be envisioned. A number of companies are already actively working on creating the hardware and software to make it reality, including:
It’s not going to happen overnight. Government incentives, like those in Dubai, provide no guarantee that people will switch straight away. Consumer behavior changes take time. A lot of elements on the supply and demand side need to become aligned for mass adoption of such huge technological paradigm shifts. The momentum is there though and it’s hard to imagine the current course reversing.
* My home country, The Netherlands, is basically one big battery.