Do we have to build out the electric grid infrastructure to serve the greater demand for electricity to charge PHEVs?
Not for a long time. Currently, there is excess capacity in the off-peak night-time hours to supply electric energy for transportation. DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted a Grid Capacity study and found that 84% of today’s cars, pick-up trucks and SUVs (220 million vehicles) could be charged off-peak on today’s power grid if they were PHEVswithout building any new capacity. Additionally, the US Department of Energy and NREL determined that even a 50% penetration of PHEVs would only increase the per capita electricity demand by around 5-10%, and would not require additional generation capacity. Furthermore, the increased generation could lead to replacing aging coal-fired plants sooner with newer, more environmentally friendly versions.
