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Exposing the “More EV Usage Will Strain the Grid” Myth

July 25, 2024

One myth that the EV charging industry just can’t shake out of the public’s mindset is that more EV usage will strain the electrical grid. Not only fringe publications sound this false alarm, but mainstream publications as well.

Image via Freepik

Although our EV usage myth-busting post provided a glimpse into the issues behind this public perception, we thought it deserved a more in-depth examination. Will increased EV usage strain the grid? Let’s take a deep dive into the topic to ease the public’s fears.

EV Grid Crash Fears Move into the Mainstream

Image via Freepik

With its headline, “Why the Electric Vehicle Boom Could Put a Major Strain on the U.S. Power Grid,” blaring neon across a quick internet search on the topic, a 2023 CNBC piece grabbed our attention. Although its title served as a bit of clickbait, the article is well worth reading.

Unfortunately, many readers will gloss over the meat of the CNBC post and join the chorus of the anti-EV movement. These sorts of headlines, spattered across even mainstream media, do the EV movement a disservice. Especially when the article presents a solution that, if implemented, could prevent such a disaster.

While author Katie Brigham rightly points out that the current US grid could buckle under the coming influx of EVs, she also shows how the US could modernize its electrical grid to handle the nearly 3,360% more electricity that EVs will need to keep rolling in 2035 — only 11 years away.

Renewables, Brigham shows, could meet that increased energy demand. Paired with “more high-voltage transmission lines to transport electricity from rural wind and solar power plants to demand centers; smaller distribution lines and transformers for last-mile electricity delivery; and hardware such as inverters that allow customers with home batteries, EVs and solar panels to feed excess energy back into the grid,” these almost-free electricity sources should be able to handle the load.

One drawback is the cost. Brigham shows that charging an EV pickup takes almost as much electricity as a whole-house air conditioning system. Imagine the cost when multiplied across the country — especially on hot summer days. Without new high-voltage lines and dependable renewable energy sources, one could foresee long waits at charging stations rivaling those during the 1970s gas shortage.

California has already foreseen the cost of its own need for grid upgrades, according to a 2024 study, as a Sharon Udasin piece in The Hill points out. Since California’s state government has mandated whole-scale electrification in the transportation sector, its challenges could foresee similar issues in states whose transition process will likely be more organic rather than mandatory.

According to the study, California will need to spend between an estimated $6 and $20 billion to produce the 25 more gigawatts of energy it will need to power its EVs, homes, and businesses.

But what if there were another solution — one that sprang from EVs themselves? As Driivz white paper shows, that possibility has become a reality in several European nations.

European Company Destroys the “EVs Will Crash the Grid” Myth

The title of that paper says it all. In “The Role of EVs in Reducing Grid Congestion in Europe,” European smart charging and energy management company Driivz lays out the role EVs will play in creating a more robust grid for years to come.

Image via Freepik

With the right balance between the growth of EV adoption and smart EV charging infrastructure, EVs can play a crucial role in supporting the electrical grid. Far from the popular characterization of EVs as energy-sucking machines, battery-powered vehicles can contribute electricity back into the local supply, feeding critical power into the system during peak usage hours.

In other words, Europe’s experiment has set the myth on its head. With the proper blend of explicit and implicit demand response protocols, the paper concludes, EVs can produce the opposite effect from the disaster that the doomsayers predict.

If Rightly Managed, “Batteries on Wheels” Can Enhance the Grid

Image via Freepik

As the Driivz paper points out, EVs aren’t only electricity consumers. More importantly, they can also serve as energy sources — “batteries on wheels.” That ability makes them an asset, not a liability, to the grid.

But there is a catch. Interoperability is a must-have to maximize EVs’ potential as a major contributor to the grid. That means that energy providers, EV manufacturers, EV charging infrastructure companies, information and communication technology (ICT) providers, and local regulatory bodies must synchronize their operations to support next-generation smart charging capabilities.

Today’s smart charging, as the paper points out, “provides backup for local energy usage, peak shaving, and balancing services,” reducing EV charging’s negative impact on the grid and transforming it into a source of renewable energy itself. Smart charging can combine implicit demand response programs (ones that use higher prices to shift electricity usage away from peak usage times) and explicit demand response programs (ones that pay consumers for charging their EVs during off-peak hours) to create a milieu that can funnel energy from EV batteries back into the grid.

The Movement Toward Using Battery Power in the US Grid Has Already Begun

In fact, some US electric companies’ vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs have already taken explicit demand response perks to the next level, paying their customers for feeding their batteries’ excess energy back into the grid. Certainly, all stakeholders serve to benefit from such an arrangement nationwide.

EV sales will skyrocket, energy companies will have adequate reserves for peak usage times, and EV charging companies and supportive technology providers will see demand for their services rise. Drivers will sigh in relief, knowing there will be enough electricity to get them to their destinations. And once they reach home, they can earn some passive income by funneling some of their vehicles’ power back into the grid.

The US Holds a Unique Advantage in Implementing Such a Program

While European countries—even those that belong to the EU—have a flurry of conflicting regulations and governmental bodies to deal with when using EV battery power, the United States can play a key role in leveraging EVs to strengthen the nation’s grid.

As one nation, as opposed to a confederation of many countries, the US can use its interstate commerce laws and free-market approach to encourage cooperation among companies with everything to gain by standardizing their smart charging protocols to milk EV’s potential for strengthening the grid.

A Common Language Makes Cross-Industry Learning Possible

But the US also has another advantage—a common language across a broad swath of land. That makes it possible for US EV business leaders to combine forces and learn from experts in various aspects of the EV charging industry.

At the EV Charging Summit & Expo, EV charging professionals meet to learn from the industry’s finest minds. Even more importantly, they have the opportunity to network with their fellow industry leaders to advance developments that can skyrocket the EV sector to the next level, such as using EV batteries to feed the grid nationwide.

If you’re passionate about growing the EV charging industry by defusing myths that hold it back, you need to take every opportunity to network with industry leaders to make it happen. Reserve your spot at the EV charging table today!

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