California announced last week that it will ban the sale of internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035.
The 31st state leads the country’s vehicle market, and more than a dozen states copy its emissions standards.
Theoretically, the grid should be able to handle EV’s, according to a Quartz article.
Electricity supply and demand work in a reinforcing feedback loop: As demand grows, it creates an incentive for utilities and power companies to invest in new generation and transmission infrastructure. And EVs may be easier to accommodate since they don’t need to be charged at times of peak demand.
The bigger bottleneck could be the rollout of charging stations and the development of new bureaucratic systems to manage the flow of electrons between so many new distributed sources of supply (solar) and demand (EVs).
Charging Concerns With Heightened Demand
However, a method under research to charge electric cars in 10 minutes could be available in five years.
In a report released this week, government researchers said they have found a way to charge electric car batteries up to 90% in just 10 minutes. The method is likely five years away from making its way into the market, scientists said, but would mark a fundamental shift.
Big Push For EV’s, Diesel and Gas Coming Up Short
California’s decision comes on the heels of diesel shortages on the East Coast.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a letter called on major U.S. oil refiners to build up capacity and reduce exports of refined products ahead of the winter. Granholm noted the reduced availability of diesel inventories along the East Coast, which are nearly 50% below the five-year average. Refined product exports are at a record high.
“Given the historic level of U.S. refined product exports, I again urge you to focus in the near term on building inventories in the United States, rather than selling down current stocks and further increasing exports,” Granholm wrote, saying that such a buildup would be an alternative to emergency measures such as releases from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.
The letter was reported first by the Wall Street Journal, which accused Granholm in an editorial of attempting to strong-arm the energy industry and abandoning European nations weaning themselves off Russian imports.
More on EV’s:
California Approves Plan to ‘Move State Away From Oil’ by 2035
Is the U.S. Prepared to Support Electric Vehicles?
