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EVs are actually a nearly ideal load for load-scheduling to match net grid draw to times of overcapacity. If anything, they have the potential to vastly improve

EVs are actually a nearly ideal load for load-scheduling to match net grid draw to times of overcapacity. If anything, they have the potential to vastly improve grid stability, which would otherwise become a concern as an increasing amount of power is supplied by fluctuating renewables.

goodSteveramos 3y ago
Adding the charging demand, some of which will inevitably occur at peak-demand, is not going to improve the stability of the grid compared to a gas car that never places any load on the grid at all. EVs will only improve grid stability if owners chose to feed the grid during peak demand.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  > Some of which will inevitably occur at peak-demand Some, but nowhere close to most. If 90% charge their cars at night, or even just at the grocery store after work, that is off peak.
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  It's not that simple. Feeding power back to the grid certainly helps (and this will likely become ubiquitous; even just tapping into the top 10% of capacity would be a massive benefit). But EVs connected to the grid can even help improve grid stability, even without feeding power back to the grid, through simple frequency-based dynamic demand methods. At peak demand, the grid is most sensitive to marginal loads. EVs that are charging at this time can modulate their power draw, even without returning power to the grid. In effect, if you turn on your kettle, a charging EV can simultaneously lower its draw rate by almost the exact same amount, so that the grid load gets smoothed out. This can be done without any data or networking. It is equivalent to adding additional rotating inertia to the grid, and very helpful for grid stability. It's a technology that is not widely adopted today, but very cheap to implement and likely to spread quickly.
  - goodSteveramos 3y ago
    the effect of increasing peak demand is going to outweight that advantage massively
    - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
      It actually does not.
goodSteveramos 3y ago
The fact that EV charging will mostly happen at night means the fraction of EV energy coming from renewables will lag far behind other electricity uses even after some of it is able to be met with renewables. Fossil plants pick up the slack from renewables at night and that effect will increase as solar replaces nuclear.

goodSteveramos 3y ago

Adding the charging demand, some of which will inevitably occur at peak-demand, is not going to improve the stability of the grid compared to a gas car that never places any load on the grid at all. EVs will only improve grid stability if owners chose to feed the grid during peak demand.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
> Some of which will inevitably occur at peak-demand Some, but nowhere close to most. If 90% charge their cars at night, or even just at the grocery store after work, that is off peak.
mitthrowaway2 3y ago
It's not that simple. Feeding power back to the grid certainly helps (and this will likely become ubiquitous; even just tapping into the top 10% of capacity would be a massive benefit). But EVs connected to the grid can even help improve grid stability, even without feeding power back to the grid, through simple frequency-based dynamic demand methods. At peak demand, the grid is most sensitive to marginal loads. EVs that are charging at this time can modulate their power draw, even without returning power to the grid. In effect, if you turn on your kettle, a charging EV can simultaneously lower its draw rate by almost the exact same amount, so that the grid load gets smoothed out. This can be done without any data or networking. It is equivalent to adding additional rotating inertia to the grid, and very helpful for grid stability. It's a technology that is not widely adopted today, but very cheap to implement and likely to spread quickly.
- goodSteveramos 3y ago
  the effect of increasing peak demand is going to outweight that advantage massively
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    It actually does not.

goodSteveramos 3y ago

The fact that EV charging will mostly happen at night means the fraction of EV energy coming from renewables will lag far behind other electricity uses even after some of it is able to be met with renewables. Fossil plants pick up the slack from renewables at night and that effect will increase as solar replaces nuclear.