Study: UK grid able handle a lot of new plug-in vehicles
If you're a UK resident who is losing sleep, fretting that a sudden increase in the adoption of plug-in hybrid and electric cars might create the sudden need for additional power generation plants to support the load, we have news that should help you enjoy a good night's rest. According to just-completed studies, the grid in the UK already has what it takes to support a significant increase in the population of plug-in cars. The Land Rover-Jaguar led Range Extended Hybrid Electric Vehicle (REHEV) project consists of a consortium of companies and has just completed the first stage of the work which looked at different charging scenarios, including "non-smart" charging at home and about town.
Although they did find there might be a need to upgrade some infrastructure in particularly plug-in dense environments, the simulations showed that in a "worst" (or "best," depending on your point of view) case scenario, 3 million emission-free vehicles added to the vehicle fleet would need less than a 2 percent increase in power generation, or about a gigawatt. That many cars would reflect a 10 percent adoption rate that even the most rose-colored glasses analysis would suggest is at least 8 years away. Other, less demanding and more probable scenarios show an increase in usage at night but no impact on daily peak demand. Future issues to be examined by REHEV include fast charging infrastructure which could help keep carbon output from your future range-extended Jaguar down to a minimum. Hit the jump for a press release with more details.
[Source: Ricardo via Green Car Congress]
Press Release:
UK power infrastructure has capacity for significant rise in use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
According to the results of simulation studies announced today by a consortium including Ricardo, Jaguar-Land Rover, E.ON and Amberjac Projects, a substantial medium-term rise in the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles would have a much lower impact on the UK national power grid than has previously been estimated
The research study has been carried out by the consortium as part of the Range Extended Hybrid Electric Vehicle (REHEV) project, which is led by Jaguar-Land Rover and part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board. The study marks completion of the first stage of the REHEV project and has focused on a range of vehicle charging scenarios and levels of market penetration in order to predict the likely increase in national energy usage. Four vehicle fleet charging scenarios were simulated, comprising uncontrolled domestic charging, uncontrolled off-peak domestic charging, 'smart' domestic charging and uncontrolled public charging throughout the day - for example, by commuters who recharge their vehicles while at work. Charging was assumed to be single phase AC as this is the most likely near-term solution, but the study also considered fast charging scenarios as for a large number of vehicles the energy demanded over a time period is likely to be the same and distributed evenly.
Assuming a 10 per cent market penetration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and pure electric vehicles in the UK vehicle parc (a proportion representing approximately 3 million passenger and light goods vehicles) the study showed a daily peak increase in electricity demand of less than 2% (approximately 1GW) for the scenario of uncontrolled domestic charging - the 'worst case' in terms of peak power demand. Other scenarios are less challenging: off-peak domestic charging, for example, increases electricity consumption throughout the night but has no impact on the peak daily demand. Since it will be a number of years before a 10 per cent level of market penetration is achieved even with the recently announced UK government incentive plans, grid capacity at a national scale should be adequate for this significant electrification of the vehicle fleet. While the national impact is shown to be manageable, the research team emphasise that local improvements may nevertheless be necessary - for example, where local network capacity is marginal or where particularly high concentrations of electric or plug-in vehicles occur.
Further work is ongoing to look at the timeline for reduced power station CO2 emissions which is the key enabler for electric and plug-in hybrids to reach true ultra low carbon status. Future reports of the REHEV project will look at fast charging infrastructure which would offer significant consumer benefits in the use of electric and plug-in hybrids.
Commenting on the results presented by the REHEV project, Neville Jackson, Ricardo group technology director (and recently appointed chair of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership), said:
"The increasing electrification of road vehicles is likely to be a key enabler for future significant reductions in transport related CO2 emissions. While the provision of publicly accessible street level infrastructure in the form of recharging points remains a challenge, the research findings published today by the REHEV project show that existing UK power grid capacity will be sufficient in the medium term to support a significant expansion of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle use and is therefore not a constraint on implementation."
Ricardo CEO, Dave Shemmans, added:
"The initial findings of the REHEV project together with the recent UK government policy announcements in support of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are a further vindication of Ricardo's strategy of focusing on future clean and low carbon vehicle technologies. We have already successfully delivered well in excess of 100 hybrid and electric vehicle programmes and I look forward to further success from the REHEV team as it continues with this highly valuable research."
The REHEV project consortium is now continuing its work, which will see the development of a modular electric and electric/diesel powertrain, suitable for several different vehicle types. This will initially be tested on a large premium sport utility platform, delivering 120 to 130 g/km and with significant zero emissions potential. Future passenger and commercial variants could have an all electric range of in excess of 20 miles, meaning that the majority of typical vehicle trips could be completed with zero tailpipe emissions. Longer range travel would still be accommodated with the internal combustion engine removing the range anxiety issues often associated with pure electric vehicles.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Ricardo plc: With technical centres and offices in the UK, USA, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Russia, China, Japan, India and Korea, Ricardo is a leading independent technology provider and strategic consultant to the world's transportation sector industries. The company's engineering expertise ranges from vehicle systems integration, controls, electronics and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fuel cell powertrain technologies. Its customers include the world's major vehicle, engine and transmission manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers and leading motorsport teams. Ricardo is committed to excellence and industry leadership in people, technology and knowledge; approximately 70 per cent of its employees are highly qualified multi-disciplined professional engineers and technicians. A public company, Ricardo plc posted sales of £197.7 million in financial year 2008 and is a constituent of the FTSE techMark 100 index - a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark 12:05PM (5/03/2009)
Great news! This was one of the nay sayers bullets against the idea of plug-ins that the grid would not be able to cope. Another myth debunked
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jharlan 12:09PM (5/03/2009)
We will obviously be DFL in getting PEVs and charging stations. It doesn't serve the needs of those who own congress. (DFL means dead last).
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downtoearth 4:14PM (5/03/2009)
This is absolutely obvious. No research is needed for such "findings".
Most plug-in hybrids will be charged at night. Just look at an arbitrary electric grid daily load, like this one:
http://www.vattenfall.de/transmission/files/sync/Netzkennzahlen/Netzlast/jpg/20090419_vert_Netzlast.jpg
or this:
http://www.rcub.bg.ac.yu/~todorom/tutorials/Image13.gif
At night nothing happens. In fact, in countries with mostly thermal electricity generation (which are majority), introducing a significant number of plug-in hybrids would be very desirable. Thermal power plants suffer from massive generation inertia and are virtually incapable of following variability of daily demand cycle. Which means a lot of electricity is simply wasted at nights (thus low price pew kWh). PHEVs will stop these losses.
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Curt 10:57PM (5/03/2009)
I hope more of those charging stations are built in the US, but inevitably some a**hole will chop that cable. Or it'll be vandalized.
Then the cable will be stripped apart and the copper will be sold to a scrap yard.
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Owain Ozymandias Buck 8:58AM (5/04/2009)
Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way--maybe the cable should be kept locked up in the car, with a standard plug and receptacle on the charging station. That would take care of that part of the problem. Unless a thief cuts the cable while you're charging up, in which case, you'd have to replace your car cable. Best thing is to hope that the crooks don't have insulated tools!
Sort of off-topic, but why put energy sucking lights on the thing? I know they're LEDs, but they still waste energy. Anybody know the energy balance of producing high visibility tape/paint vs. LED lights? Hmmm. I'd better go do some work so I don't keep thinking of things like this. ;)