Engineering Explained: If Gas cars are banned, Can The Grid Handle Electric Cars?

[azjohn]

This is something I have always thought about, thank you Jason for doing the math

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[FullyGrounded]

I don't think gas cars will be banned, but I do see you paying additional at tag renewal that is in effect a carbon tax. And, this will get steeper and steeper over time, until you see the value in driving a vehicle with renewable energy source. peace

 

[happy intruder]

that's why THEY want solar panel implementation......phase out by 2035.....but I agree......we will be screwed because of the current gird system....china is already imbedded into it I'll bet and Russia too....so, watch out

 

[Crissa]

The vast majority of car charging is at night, with another high mid-day, then a smattering across the day for people charging away from home.

Our excess capacity is probably more than 30%. A night-time charger is like leaving a space heater on.

So at no point does this tax our capacity. Transmission lines tend to be overloaded when people are most likely to be using their cars, but not when they're most likely to be charging.

-Crissa

 

[Cyberpartyboy21]

If autonomous vehicles break out in numbers that ARK Invest and Tesla are predicting, there will be far fewer vehicles on the road, but being used for far longer periods. There is a huge amount of energy needed to produce gas, diesel and the making of ICE vehicles. Solar will be far more used in the near future, also with far more homes having their own power plants. It will all work out well.

 

[FutureBoy]

If autonomous vehicles break out in numbers that ARK Invest and Tesla are predicting, there will be far fewer vehicles on the road, but being used for far longer periods. There is a huge amount of energy needed to produce gas, diesel and the making of ICE vehicles. Solar will be far more used in the near future, also with far more homes having their own power plants. It will all work out well.

Yes.

And don’t be surprised if there are hiccups along the way though.

 

[CybertruckAgent]

No, it can’t. Politics aside, We can’t push EV adoption en masse AND ban natural gas fracking, coal power, nuclear power etc. Two things are necessary for mass EV adoption, improved fast chargers available as frequently and cost effectively for the user as gas stations are now, and cheap, plentiful electricity. It’s fools gold to think you can build enough windmills or solar panels to support our entire grid AND the entire transportation sector.

 

[Dids]

No, it can’t. Politics aside, We can’t push EV adoption en masse AND ban natural gas fracking, coal power, nuclear power etc. Two things are necessary for mass EV adoption, improved fast chargers available as frequently and cost effectively for the user as gas stations are now, and cheap, plentiful electricity. It’s fools gold to think you can build enough windmills or solar panels to support our entire grid AND the entire transportation sector.

Solar Electricity became the cheapest electricity in human history last year. In 2008 it would have taken 20,000 sq miles of panels to power the entire usa. That number has come down dramatically as panel efficiency went up. Just to put it in perspective.... coal mining took up 13,000 Sq miles.

 

[Cyber_Dav]

Solar will be far more used in the near future, also with far more homes having their own power plants. It will all work out well.

Not if local utilities have anything to say about it. Our utility won't let us install more than 5kW. Not even enough to cover our daily use most of the year.

They're fighting solar on homes tooth and nail. Mostly with forcing of EV rates that are higher.

Eventually I expect them to lose. But not for many years.

 

[Crissa]

It’s fools gold to think you can build enough windmills or solar panels to support our entire grid AND the entire transportation sector.

Fool's gold?

Putting solar (150watt per square meter) on every suitable roof (8 billion square meters in the US) would get us 6 terawatt hours of power every day, on average, or over two trillion kilowatt hours per year.

And that's without wind, without using our natural gas generation (which doesn't need fracking), without solar farms...

-Crissa

 

[jerhenderson]

No, it can’t. Politics aside, We can’t push EV adoption en masse AND ban natural gas fracking, coal power, nuclear power etc. Two things are necessary for mass EV adoption, improved fast chargers available as frequently and cost effectively for the user as gas stations are now, and cheap, plentiful electricity. It’s fools gold to think you can build enough windmills or solar panels to support our entire grid AND the entire transportation sector.

If you covered Texas in solar power and could distribute that energy without loss, those panels could power the entire world - so yes having enough infrastructure could support the entire grid and transportation.

 

[Sirfun]

Ok, If you could drill in your backyard and install a pump to fill your fuel needs wouldn't you think about it?
This article explains that possibility and about how much it cost's. It talks about So Cal Edison which is my neck of the woods. And for me it's cheaper, because I'm retired and don't drive 13,000 miles per year anymore. Also they are talking about covering ALL the miles driven, at home with your solar, and NONE on trips or using Supercharging.
So, think of solar as being able to produce fuel for your vehicle yourself at a FIXED rate. IT MAKES CENTS!
If people install solar for their homes and produce power to cover their needs, how is selling EV's gonna ADD load to the grid? Selling more EV's could possibly reduce Grid load, because it will make them think about going solar.

https://www.solar.com/learn/cost-to-charge-a-tesla-model-3-with-solar-vs-socal-edison/

 

[azjohn]

Not if local utilities have anything to say about it. Our utility won't let us install more than 5kW. Not even enough to cover our daily use most of the year.

They're fighting solar on homes tooth and nail. Mostly with forcing of EV rates that are higher.

Eventually I expect them to lose. But not for many years.

You would think that with all the power issues you have in SoCal the power companies would welcome all the help they can get

 

[Luke42]

Fool's gold?

Putting solar (150watt per square meter) on every suitable roof (8billion square meters) would get us 6 terawatt hours of power ever day, on average, or over two trillion kilowatt hours per year.

And that's without wind, without using our natural gas generation (which doesn't need fracking), without solar farms...

-Crissa

Systemically, we'd need more peaker plants (usually NG or hydro) and/or lots of batteries to keep the grid balanced.

Making that happen is a lot of work, but it's a world I'd like to live in.

Oh, and I get to drive a super-fast stainless steel electric pickup truck which should last as long as my kitchen sink. Nice!

 

[Crissa]

Systemically, we'd need more peaker plants (usually NG or hydro) and/or lots of batteries to keep the grid balanced.

EVs mostly charge non-peak hours. Very little charging is during peak hours. Instead of a peaker plant, we would make sure every EV comes with a timer in its charging system. Which would both make the battery last longer and shift the load to when we have capacity.

Making sure workplaces have a place to charge up at would be good, too, because solar comes in the day. All those parking lots could be solar - shading the cars and filling them up with cheap power. And that's not even in my estimate: There are up to 24 billion square meters of off-street parking in the US.

-Crissa