Abstract
SummaryCalifornia has adopted a substantial number of electric vehicles over the last decade but there are many challenges associated with the electrification of vehicles, including how they interact with the electricity grid. We employ real-world feeder circuit level data in California from PG&E to measure the capacity of local feeders. We model the adoption of electric vehicles down to the census block and take advantage of real-world vehicle charging data to simulate the future loading on circuits throughout Northern California. In our highest adoption scenario of 6 million electric vehicles in California, we find that across PG&E's service territory, 443 circuits will require upgrades (nearly 20% of all circuits) and merely 88 of these feeders have planned upgrades in the future. The costs of these feeders are an essential part of a utility's planning process, and this work speaks to the importance of electric vehicles on local distribution networks.
Highlights
Since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
SUMMARY California has adopted a substantial number of electric vehicles over the last decade but there are many challenges associated with the electrification of vehicles, including how they interact with the electricity grid
We employ real-world feeder circuit level data in California from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to measure the capacity of local feeders
Summary
Since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 A large suite of policies has been passed to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector These include requirements to use cleaner fuels (Low Carbon Fuel Standards), mandate sales of zero emission vehicles (Zero Emission Vehicle [ZEV] and Advanced Clean Truck programs), and incentives for car buyers to purchase clean vehicles (Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, HOV Lane Access, and California Clean Fuel Reward) to name a few. These policies have helped to accelerate a transition away from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) gasoline vehicles toward alternative technologies including full battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs, which can operate both on a battery powered motor as well as a gasoline powered engine), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs)
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