Big Charging: The Large Power Demanding Future of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

Electric Vehicles (EV) are the main pillar of transportation electrification. In the past 15 years, a surge in interest in these vehicles has occurred, with a focus on technical and government applications. As of 2018 only 0.5 percent of vehicles are electrified in the United States, creating unknown conditions about how large-scale charging will affect not only the national grid but longterm physical infrastructure. Therefore, observing how EV charging technology has evolved is necessary to start the discussion about near-term charging impacts. Grid-level and public policy interactions for Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle will be evaluated in terms of EV adoption methodology. This qualitative analysis will illuminate how these cities are managing the influx of EVs into their territories. Finally, EVs have both positive and negative consequences of large-scale implementation as with any other electrical equipment, with the positive outweighing the negative through power matching and duck curve mitigation. In the interim, EVs could have more positive effects than negative on the national grid and local-level policy in regards to transportation electrification.