Charging six electric cars at once could cause local power outages

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By Paul Homewood

From Auto Express:

Britain’s energy networks are in need of investment and improvement if they’re to deal with future uptake of EVs

Just six electric cars charging at the same time on a street could cause local power shortages, according to a new study that warns Britain’s energy system needs urgent investment to keep pace with EV uptake.

A report by Green Alliance said the country’s energy networks are unprepared to deal with the growing uptake of electric cars and solar panels in the future. Unless there’s investment in significant upgrades, the uptake of electric cars is a “recipe for disaster,” as blackouts, inadequate generation at peak times and rising energy bills grow.

Already, "as few as six closely located vehicles charging together at peak times could lead to local brownouts." The report by Green Alliance said a single EV charge can use as much electricity as a household uses in three days.

Today, the 86,169 plug-in and electric cars on the road consume less than one per cent of the annual electricity output, however, by 2040 – when over 4.6 million EVs are forecasted on Britain’s roads – electric cars could account for 7 per cent of total electricity demand, according to energy consultants Element Energy.

To avoid congestion and blackouts during peak hours, the Green Alliance urges the Government to invest in more smart chargers that can defer when cars are topped up, as well as invest in large-scale energy projects like generators.

Investments in public charging infrastructure will also be required, as Auto Express previously highlighted how the UK’s electric charging infrastructure is rapidly falling behind electric vehicle uptake. The ratio of EVs per charger has grown from 0.78 to 7.34 in just four years. The European Commission previously suggested the maximum ratio to avoid charging blockages and congestion is one in 10.

The Green Alliance report warned: “The way the UK energy system is currently governed, this disruption is very likely to lead to future value destruction and grid defection. Both the power system and power markets are designed for unidirectional flows of electricity from large-scale generation to the transmission network, then to the distribution network and, finally, into people’s homes.

“Power markets can be reformed and technologies regulated to create a cost effective, manageable system.This can only happen by first reassessing the role the government plays in determining the energy system.”

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If just six cars can trigger a brownout, just imagine what will happen when millions are on the road.

Still, we should not worry. Jillian Ambrose tells us:

Part of the answer is to hand more power to the smaller, local distribution network operators. In the future these small regional networks will need to take on a role similar to that played by National Grid, by carefully managing supplies of power from roof-top solar panels.

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It appears nobody has told her that solar power produces next to no power in the middle of winter.

The Telegraph piece continues:

The national system operator itself says it is up to the challenge. It believes electric vehicles could drive electricity demand up by 13- 21 TWh by 2033 and at peak times create a net drain of 1GW, the equivalent of two large power plants.

But these numbers don’t stack up. 21 TWh, averaged over 24 hours, equates to 2.4GW. The peak would be much higher still.

Most drivers logically would plug their cars in during early evening, so we could easily be looking at a peak of 20GW plus.

Smart chargers might help to spread the load a little, but how many drivers will wake up next morning, and find their car batteries are still flat? Particularly when the Grid decides to draw power back from your car at breakfast time, when demand peaks.

The more we look at these sort of detailed issues, the more the problems multiply.

We are rapidly approaching a time of great danger for the energy security of this country. We only have a glimmer of the sort of problems we are creating for ourselves, and even less idea of how to find a way around them.

All of this at great cost, and for no good reason at all.