EnergyBusiness News

America’s electric grid is ill prepared for EV revolution. Ambitious legislation by the federal and state governments, such as the Inflation Reduction Act passed earlier this year, has poured billions towards zero-emission solutions such as renewables, cleantech solutions and EVs. The upcoming years will see a proliferation of EVs on US roads. This growth will lead to a massive uptick in electricity demand and cause strain on the electric grid. This strain with be localized at EV charging points, making electric grid upgrades a necessity for locations such as truck stops.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the US is working towards the creation of a national charging network across the country. But simply building the charging points will be insufficient. For many sites, a charging station equipped with 20 fast EV chargers necessitates upgrading the Electric grid to handle the electricity demand of a small town. The future increase in demand for electricity is expected to be met by additional wind and solar power capacity, but some utilities are already having difficulties securing a reliable supply of electricity, with blackouts becoming a serious threat in parts of the US.

This situation was unimaginable just a year ago. The pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 had seen a slump in electricity consumption in the US, but in 2022 demand for electricity has risen sharply while supply has become constrained. The US exported large amounts of coal and gas to Europe after Russian was sanctioned. With Europe’s energy crisis far from over, shortfalls in supply will be difficult to make up. Planned renewable energy and storage projects in the US are facing delays and rising costs due to looming supply shortages in key materials such as copper and lithium. The difficulties America’s electric grid will face during the EV revolution are just beginning.

Source: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Americas-Electric-Grid-Cant-Support-The-EV-Revolution.html