California’s Coming Electric Vehicle Disaster

 

California's Energy Grid Can't Support Electric Vehicle Push (reason.com)

Amid a heat wave, warnings were sent out not to recharge electric vehicles during peak hours.

"A massive heatwave has come to California, so citizens of the Golden State may be enduring triple-digit temperatures for a week. The pressure the heat will throw onto the state's power grid has prompted an emergency call for citizens to reduce electricity use during peak early evening hours. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency that temporarily eases some state regulations limiting operations of thermal power plants and portable generators.

"Part of this call for citizens to reduce electricity consumption from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. also includes a request that citizens "avoid charging electric vehicles while the Flex Alert is in effect." This request comes only a week after California leaders moved forward with a plan to ban most gasoline-powered vehicle sales in the state (with an exception for hybrid vehicles) by 2035.

"Though it is true that such a ban will reduce emissions, switching to electric vehicles will over time dramatically increase the strain on California's power grid. If everybody in California went out and bought electric vehicles tomorrow, it would probably be an energy disaster.

"That's probably not going to happen for a few reasons. California solely plans to ban sales, not all operation of gasoline-powered cars. Millions of Californians won't and probably can't afford to transition to electric vehicles within the next 13 years. Though California has the most electric vehicles registered of any state (550,000), that's out of more than 14 million total vehicles, so still a drop in the bucket.

"In that sense, the slow-but-steady adoption of electric vehicles should give the state the opportunity to actually plan for an increase in energy demand. On Wednesday, lawmakers voted to keep the nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, open until at least 2030. It had been scheduled to be decommissioned by 2025.". . .