The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) researched the impact of electric vehicles on the power grid and found out that energy usage attributable to EVs could grow from only 146,000 megawatts-hour in 2010 to 2.6 million by 2020 in the United States – an increase of 1,700 percent.
Impressive, but hardly surprising. After all, most experts predict that these vehicles will account for a very large part of the American fleet within a couple of years.
Now, can the country's dated infrastructure handle such a stronger demand in electricity? There is a host of technological and operational issues to address, particularly when it comes to modernizing the grid.
While the study, "Gearing Up for Electric Vehicles: Tackling the EV Challenges to the Smart Grid", focuses exclusively on the U.S., it sparks a vital debate that most nations will eventually need to resolve.
UTC says that improved battery performance, infrastructure innovations that support the peak load changes and advancements in vehicle-to-grid technology are just some of the key issues that will dictate how quickly EV adoption will occur.
Car makers are about to revolutionize the automobile. Are we ready as a society to embrace a massive influx of EVs in the near future?
Sources :Utilities Telecom Council via Autoblog
Impressive, but hardly surprising. After all, most experts predict that these vehicles will account for a very large part of the American fleet within a couple of years.
Now, can the country's dated infrastructure handle such a stronger demand in electricity? There is a host of technological and operational issues to address, particularly when it comes to modernizing the grid.
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| Photo : Nissan LEAF |
While the study, "Gearing Up for Electric Vehicles: Tackling the EV Challenges to the Smart Grid", focuses exclusively on the U.S., it sparks a vital debate that most nations will eventually need to resolve.
UTC says that improved battery performance, infrastructure innovations that support the peak load changes and advancements in vehicle-to-grid technology are just some of the key issues that will dictate how quickly EV adoption will occur.
Car makers are about to revolutionize the automobile. Are we ready as a society to embrace a massive influx of EVs in the near future?
Sources :Utilities Telecom Council via Autoblog