On smart grid technology to support a high uptake of electric vehicles – preliminary observations

Presently, available commuter electric vehicles have a battery capacity roughly equivalent to the average Australian householder's daily electricity consumption (25kWh). Naively, converting the entire fleet of commuter vehicles to electric vehicles appears therefore only feasible if the installed electrical power generation capacity doubles in size. The driver for this conversion from petrol/gas internal combustion engines to electric motors for commute vehicles stems from the significant greenhouse gas reduction that can be realized. Nevertheless doubling the electrical grid's capacity comes with too heavy a price tag. The only realistic way forward is to exploit demand management, based on the observation that peak generation is only used for a very small fraction of time, and that most car batteries can be charged off-peak. Using a smart grid enabled load management system it is possible to alleviate the need for substantial additional generation capacity. Moreover, the available electric vehicle battery storage can be used to advantage to increase the power generation contribution from wind and other alternative and hopefully more sustainable sources. This strengthens the case for the conversion. This paper considers a potential demand management approach that enables a high uptake of electric vehicles in an Australian urban context.