Can the power grid cope with the extra demands of electric vehicles?
As Rob Pratt pointed out in his June 2007 workshop, idle capacity in the U.S. grid could supply 73% of the energy needs of today’s cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and vans, without adding generation or transmission, if vehicles are charged at off peak hours. Pacific Gas and Electric Company has off-peak rates (in summer, midnight to 7.00 am) as low as $0.05/kwh, while peak rates are as high as $0.28/kwh. Such Time of Use (TOU) rates are a great incentive for owners of electric vehicles to recharge at off-peak hours from the grid and from rooftop solar panels at peak hours. There’s further synergy between rooftop solar panels and electric cars, which makes that a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) goes hand in hand with more solar panels. Owners of EVs are more likely than other vehicle owners to add solar panels and wind turbines on their premises. In a survey of RAV4-owners, 48% responded that solar energy powered their car. Storing electricity from rooftop solar panels in car batteries durin
