Study: Electric Vehicle Charging Could Present Grid Challenges

According to a new study by Wood Mackenzie, Americans should be cautious about electric vehicles (EVs) and their rate of adoption into the marketplace because they can be disruptive to the electric grid. Because electric cars have less driving range on a charge than the equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle has on a tank of gas, their batteries must be recharged fairly frequently. A recent study found that simultaneous charging of just 60,000 electric vehicles could threaten the Texas grid. Based on a 100-kilowatt EV battery with a five-minute charge time, which could potentially be the standard for EVs in three or four years according to Wood Mackenzie, demand from 60,000 cars charging at once would equate to 70 gigawatts; this is equal to the current peak demand of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).¹