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The majority of charging in Western Europe will happen overnight and at home, combine that with 'smart chargers', which are technologically trivial, appropriate

The majority of charging in Western Europe will happen overnight and at home, combine that with 'smart chargers', which are technologically trivial, appropriate tariffs giving a discount in exchange for flexible demand overnight, and a thirty year period to make the transition (even if all new cars were electric from 2035), and I doubt the impact on the grid will be that dramatic. You will actually likely have improved utilization of existing assets, coupled with a lot of extra revenue going to power companies, away from oil companies. Motorway charging systems, which will be a small minority of total charging, will need ongoing grid upgrades, but spikes in demand can be buffered by trickle charging batteries, and dealing with increased electricity demand can scale gradually and incrementally as the transition occurs over that 30 year period. The infrastructure improvements will likely come under national infrastructure provisions which limit planning objections. I actually think the grid transition will mostly happen without people realizing.

sandworm101 8y ago
Of cars. But cars are not anywhere near the bulk of IC engine capacity. Between trucks, trains, ships and construction equipment, there is a huge amount of power that will have to come from somewhere. Those devices don't just commute twice a day then sit in a garage charging. They basically run all day, in some cases 24/7 (trucks/trains). They will need a steady supply from some sort of power plant/grid.
- stefanfisk 8y ago
  Aren’t most European trains already electric?
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Commuter trains, yes. "Most european trains" also probably yes as that would include the commuters. But if we are talking about replacing one engine system with another, the real measure is horsepower. Diesel is still a norm for long-haul freight, the real heavy lifting. In total amount of horsepower being used, diesel is still king. There are many reasons for this, the big one being a lack of standardization among European countries re overhead power supplies. A diesel can drive across boarders without worry about voltage or current changes. And I do laugh a little when they talk about removing the internal combustion trains. Nobody is talking about the external combustion trains, the steam trains. They are carbon nightmares but we keep them for nostalgic rides and movies about wizards. Will we do the same with diesels?
    - Brakenshire 8y ago
      It seems that you’re arguing with a straw man because these bans which are being talked about are for road transport, no government is proposing to ban IC ships, trains, and farm and construction equipment over that time frame, although it will likely be the case that a programme of electrification will be continued and stepped up. Similarly I don’t know why you’re talking about steam engines, they are totally insignificant.
    - adrianN 8y ago
      Nobody is talking about external combustion trains because you can count them on your fingers. The amount of coal they use is minuscule in the grand scheme of things. They also don't tend to run through inner cities.

sandworm101 8y ago

Of cars. But cars are not anywhere near the bulk of IC engine capacity. Between trucks, trains, ships and construction equipment, there is a huge amount of power that will have to come from somewhere. Those devices don't just commute twice a day then sit in a garage charging. They basically run all day, in some cases 24/7 (trucks/trains). They will need a steady supply from some sort of power plant/grid.

stefanfisk 8y ago
Aren’t most European trains already electric?
- sandworm101 8y ago
  Commuter trains, yes. "Most european trains" also probably yes as that would include the commuters. But if we are talking about replacing one engine system with another, the real measure is horsepower. Diesel is still a norm for long-haul freight, the real heavy lifting. In total amount of horsepower being used, diesel is still king. There are many reasons for this, the big one being a lack of standardization among European countries re overhead power supplies. A diesel can drive across boarders without worry about voltage or current changes. And I do laugh a little when they talk about removing the internal combustion trains. Nobody is talking about the external combustion trains, the steam trains. They are carbon nightmares but we keep them for nostalgic rides and movies about wizards. Will we do the same with diesels?
  - Brakenshire 8y ago
    It seems that you’re arguing with a straw man because these bans which are being talked about are for road transport, no government is proposing to ban IC ships, trains, and farm and construction equipment over that time frame, although it will likely be the case that a programme of electrification will be continued and stepped up. Similarly I don’t know why you’re talking about steam engines, they are totally insignificant.
  - adrianN 8y ago
    Nobody is talking about external combustion trains because you can count them on your fingers. The amount of coal they use is minuscule in the grand scheme of things. They also don't tend to run through inner cities.