US EV sales expected to grow, but power demand impacts vary: study

摘要

US electric vehicle deployment is expected to increase considerably by 2030, but the power demand impacts vary depending on when the vehicles are charged, utility rate structures and other factors, according to a recent study. The Boston Consulting Group study focused on how utilities will need to balance the need for upgrading power grids to handle additional load from EV charging without spiking customer bills, but it also found the overall power demand impact varies under different circumstances. “Although the widespread adoption of EVs will require a significant increase in grid capacity to handle certain locations and time periods of high charging demand, the impact on overall energy load will be less dramatic,” according to the study. The authors cite the example of 200 public-transit buses charging simultaneously overnight using a lower capacity 80-kW charger demanding 16 MW of grid capacity. However, if 20% of those buses charged during the day using 450-kW to 50-kW fast chargers for 10 to 15 minutes, they would require 18 MW of grid capacity, or the equivalent peak demand of 3,000 homes.