But what about the rest of the U.S.? (Photo by Frederic J. WIRED Media Group "Market disruptions like this are slowuntil they're not," he said. Mostly, private companies are responsible for installing them, although state grants help. Thats why California needs a robust clean energy deployment plan and to assign a lead agency rather than relying on piecemeal strategies, he said. Electrifying all new cars in California could be an immense burden on the states struggling power grid -- or a whole new line of defense against blackouts. To meet these goals, the lead commissioner on clean transportation at the California Energy Commission (CEC), Patty Monahan, estimated 8 million electric cars My thoughts: We can see the terrible impact of climate change from droughts and rampaging wildfires in western states to increasingly frequent tropical storms and hurricanes in coastal and eastern states, as well as freak storms such as the hurricane-force derecho that tore through Iowa in August. With 15 times more electric cars expected on Californias roads by 2035, the amount of power they consume will grow exponentially. Last week, a company called B2U Storage Solutions announced that it had started operations at a 25 Megawatt-hour battery facility in California. Published 1 October 2013. Thereport notes that theCalifornia Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project(CALeVIP), the states incentive program for EV chargers, is oversubscribed by hundreds of millions of dollars, demonstrating strong market and consumer demand for public funding. Last week, a company called B2U Storage Solutions announced that it had started operations at a 25 Megawatt-hour battery facility in California. worst EV-to-charger port ratios in the nation. In normal times, Cal ISOs request would not have generated controversy, especially because the Flex Alerts will probably end soon. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images), Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In City Of London, COtooCLEAN Process That Recycles Flexible Plastic Back To The Shelf Instead Of The Landfill Wins $3 Million Prize, Electric Bike Battery Collection And Recycling Program Started By U.K.s Bicycle Association, Cars Not Banned In 15-Minute Cities Nor Will Bugs Be Lunch, A Tedious And Boring Analysis Of Two Items In ExxonMobils 2022 10-K, Plastic Consumption Could Nearly Double By 2050, Study Warns. Driving the news: B2U Storage Solutions' Sierra facility has reached 25MWh of solar storage capacity using second-life EV batteries from Honda and Nissan, the company announced Tuesday. The broken Twitter everyone warned us about is finally here. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? Roadshow: Is defacing license plates to fool toll camera readers on the rise in Bay Area? In fact, some coastal communities are also opposing offshore wind turbines for similar reasons. "They do have some powertrain warranty dynamics where they're replacing batteries that didn't meet certain promise specs, and there have been some pack replacement programs for some of the early vehicles like the Leaf," Hall said. Vehicle-grid integration (VGI) refers to technologies, policies, and strategies for electric vehicle (EV) charging which alter the time, power level, or location of the charging (or discharging) in a manner that benefits the grid while still meeting drivers mobility needs. California leads the nation in solar energy generation, according to an assessment by ChooseEnergy.com. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. Even Germany is contemplating extending the lives of its nuclear reactors, although in 2011 it had announced their closure. But for some drivers, especially those who live in apartments or condominiums, charging during those hours may not be an option. Its a huge challenge, Stern said. Bidirectional charging power flowing out of a car battery as well as into it has been part of Fords marketing for its electric F-150 lightning since the truck was announced in May 2021, and PG&E previously worked with BMW to test ways EVs could support the grid. I certainly think that utilities, given their scale, could go further faster if they wanted to, Houston told Recode. Winds off the coast are also strongest in the late afternoon and evening, which is exactly when particularly in the summer electricity demand surges. Californias EV mandate followed by Flex Alerts raises a broader climate policy issue. But experts say GMs size and electric vehicle ambitions mean its pilot with PG&E has the potential to be a big deal, and could be the first real test case of the vehicle-to-grid idea. For instance, in the summer when energy is the most expensive, PG&E customers pay about 55 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak hours, more than double the 24 cents during off-peak times, according to PG&E spokesperson Paul Doherty. By 2030, about 1.2 million chargers will be needed for 8 million vehicles, according to a state report. To replace them, the state Public Utilities Commission has ordered utilities by 2026 to procure 11.5 gigawatts of new renewable energy resources, or enough to power 2.5 million homes. More than 73,000 public and shared chargers have been installed to date, with an additional 123,000 planned by 2025. Newsom's latest budget proposal includes $1.5 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure. California has around 80,000 charging ports, more than any other state, but that obviously wont cut it in 2035, when millions of EVs are expected to be driving on California roads and highways. Theres also some not-in-my-backyard pushback in the desert and other rural communities. That's not the case for residents who rent their homes, many of whom don't have designated parking spaces. The Air Resources Board enacted the mandate last August and just six days later, Californias power grid was so taxed by heat waves that an unprecedented, 10-day emergency alert warned residents to cut electricity use or face outages. Officials are asking companies to switch production hours and use generators, which often work on diesel. Ultimately, electrifying cars, heaters, stoves and other equipment currently running on fossil fuels could save an average family $1,050 to $2,585 a year, according to Rewiring America. Right now, the only vehicle available with bidirectional charging is the Nissan LEAF. Currently, there are about 635,000 electric vehicles registered in "Today, EVs are disproportionately driven by homeowners," Moniot said. The idea behind the pilot is deceptively simple: An EV owner plugs their car into a charger at home, and instead of electricity simply flowing into the cars battery, electricity can also flow out of it to provide power to buildings a concept called vehicle-to-grid, which essentially makes the car an extension of the power grid itself. Offshore wind farms offer the promise of a lot of clean energy at the time of day and season when we need it most, Stern said. Gary Richards has covered traffic and transportation in the Bay Area as Mr. Roadshow since 1992. About the California Energy CommissionThe California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. "That really is going to entail a massive scale-up," Monahan told Newsweek. This is plausible if the right policies are in place, but its not guaranteed. Installing the massive turbines with blades bigger than a football field and constructing transmission lines and an onshore production plant would take another two to three years, Stern said. In addition to Newsom's suggested spending, Monahan said there also appears to be "appetite" within the state legislature to support the push for electric vehicles. With 15 times more electric cars expected on Californias roads by 2035, the amount of power they consume will grow exponentially. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here! The CEC is in charge of evaluating California's energy needs and has been tasked with identifying what kinds of investments will be necessary in order to meet Newsom's 2035 deadline. Southern California Edison worries that if drivers charge during late summer afternoons, electric vehicles could strain the grid, said Brian Stonerock, the utilitys director of business planning and technology. Temperatures as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) were forecast in some Los Angeles suburbs as a huge heat dome bakes a swathe of the western United States. California isnt backing down from this challenge because the health of our communities and planet is at stake. In two years the last nuclear plant in California will be closed. Perhaps climate groups should start lobbying for the Senate Bill, the Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity Act that seeks to streamline siting procedures for interstate transmission lines. Turbines of Americas first offshore wind farm, owned by the Danish company, Orsted, off the coast of Block Island, R.I. on Oct. 17, 2022. In the past three years, the pace sped up, with more than 4 gigawatts added annually, state data shows. By 2035, perhaps less so, due to the growth in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. This is especially pronounced for wind because much of Americas wind potential is concentrated in a wind belt which runs from North Texas through the Dakotas and to the Canadian border. Engineering. San Diego Gas & Electric and a battery company deployed a first-of-its kind project with buses that have battery capacity five times greater than an electric cars. California's power operator wants residents to avoid charging electric vehicles at certain hours through Labor Day to ease the stress on the power grid amid extreme heat and high demand. V2X: Vehicle to everything. PG&E, which is based in San Francisco, serves a territory thats a fertile testing ground for vehicle-to-grid technology. Sam Lafoca/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images. Before continuing, I should point out how massive Californias decision is to move to 100% EVs 13 years from now. On August 26, the state of Washington followed, and about 12 additional states are expected to announce similar mandates. - Feb 21, 2023 7:03 pm UTC. Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing and changing us. Nationally there are about 2.64 million. (Photo by Frederic J. It provides 10% of our energyagain, no replacement. Your answer is absolutely not appropriateIts very concerning.. As renewable energy sources alleviate some of the pressure on California's power grid, an increasing number of electric vehicles on the road will add pressure back on. The effects of our actions now will long outlive us. The cost of electricity is trending so high that it represents a threat to California meeting its goals, said Mark Toney, executive director of the advocacy group Utility Reform Network. Supportinglocal efforts to prepare for transportation electrification,includingcommunity engagement, andland use planningand permitting. "It's a huge opportunity, so let's not lose that opportunity, lose momentum, because we don't have enough infrastructure to meet the need.". In a Baptist-Bootlegger alliance, climate groups could even team up with the nuclear industry in this regard. As electric cars surge, so will demand for public chargers. The CIGRE B4 DC Grid Test System. Most PG&E customers take advantage of the lower pricing: On average, between 60% to 70% of electric vehicles in PG&Es service area are charged during non-peak hours. Develop a giant new industry: State officials predict that offshore wind farms will provide enough power for about 1.5 million homes by 2030 and 25 million homes by 2045. That sounds promising, but the state is hinging its hopes on an emerging sector that doesnt yet exist in California and vast regulatory and technological hurdles lie ahead. Fast chargers like the Tesla superchargers available at some public spots can juice up a battery to 80% within 20 minutes to an hour. Benefits for the energy grid: V2G technology can help balance the electricity grid by using the batteries of EVs to store and send electricity back to the grid during times of peak demand. Thats well above the median U.S. ratio of 14 EVs per port. Will it be able to support millions more electric vehicles? Powering a single home, however, is easier: The building would simply need to be wired in a way that shuts it off from the larger grid when its receiving power from the car, which is probably why the GM-PG&E pilot is focusing on home backup power. California has reaffirmed its commitment to banning gasoline-powered cars and requiring all new sales to be of electric cars in coming years. H. Saad. Whats Next For Keurig Dr Pepper Stock After A Mixed Q4? The key obstacle is probably political: local opposition to new high voltage transmission lines. But newer models like the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 will have that ability, said Bill Powers, a San Diego engineer who plans to go off the grid with the help of an electric car. In this Aug. 17, 2022, file photo, windmills and power lines are shown, as California's grid operator urged the state's 40 million people to ratchet down the use of "Lowering electricity use during that time will ease strain on the system, and prevent more drastic measures, including rotating power outages," it added. System Operator announced a statewide electricity Flex Alert urging conservation to avoid blackouts in Monterey Park, California on August 31, 2022. The projects could provide enough energy to supply power to 1.6 million homes, according to a White House fact sheet. Should governments ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply before they mandate a switch to EVs? Not all of it comes from the power grid. The implication is that undergrounding transmission lines might become a political necessity, a payment for the social license to construct new transmission lines. The project, which will break ground early next year and be completed in 2024, is expected to generate an incredible 13 gigawatts (GW) of power, which is equal to one sixth of the states current electricity capacity. There are more than half a million E.V.s in California, the most of any state. Part of the issue is that the grid might not be ready for energy to flow in the opposite direction than it normally does. One solution is to make sure that new EVs are equipped with bidirectional chargers. California has about 838,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids. So the company expects to get significant use from them before they're sent on for recycling. The technology is still in the early stages, has not been tested with other electric vehicles and its unclear when it will be ready. Youve got an electricity grid that is leaning on customers to do more, instead of, actually, as a state, generating the power we need to keep the lights on.. But as rates keep rising, charging a car could cost more than filling a gas tank. California will need expanded ports, and developers must first submit detailed plans about a projects cost and scale before facing extensive environmental reviews. As that evolution occurs, finding a new balance for California's power grid will be crucial, Moniot said. While the performance will continue to degrade over time, grid-level power storage doesn't require the rapid charge or discharge behavior that puts the most stress on the battery's capacity. Theres no good way to send power from public charging spots back into, say, an apartment, and its hard enough to figure out how to send energy from public chargers back into the grid at large. BMW IX5 Hydrogen First Drive: The Car H2 Has Been Waiting For? Companies could address this opposition by, say, burying transmission lines, which raises transmission costs. Although that represents a tiny share of the 14 million or so vehicles on the road in California, E.V.s already pose a problem for the state's energy grid. One method is called vehicle-to-grid integration, where energy can be reabsorbed by the grid when the vehicle is parked. One of the most prominent women in tech and one of Googles earliest employees is leaving the company. The federal government has established a $6 billion program to help avoid premature retirements of nuclear reactors across the country. Bill Gates Terra Power is working on a new Natrium design which can reduce the costs of nuclear energy. An upgraded, level two charger can take four to ten hours, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. 170. Prior to that he was an assistant sports editor at the paper from Its beyond time that we take drastic efforts to curb climate change. 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