The EV Transition Explained [pdf]

Very interesting work. There's a companion site here:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/collections/the-ev-transition-expl...

There's a lot to absorb here. It will take me a few days to go through it and check references.

A quick skimming landed me at something most people don't seem to understand about issues with our current infrastructure, generally lumped into the term "grid". On page 14, Chapter 3, the author describes some of the issues in Palo Alto and, by extension, the rest of the nation.

Quoting:

"Palo Alto’s electrical-distribution system was built for the electric loads of the 1950s and 1960s"

"The distribution system does not have the capacity to support EVs"

"the system was designed for one-way power, not for distributed-renewable-energy devices sending power back into the system."

"A big problem is the 3,150 distribution transformers in the city, Marshall indicated. A 2020 electrification-impact study found that without improvements, more than 95 percent of residential transformers would be overloaded"

"the distribution system was originally designed for each household to draw 2 kilowatts of power"

"for planning purposes, Palo Alto assumes an L2 charger will draw 12 to 14 kW"

"The situation in Palo Alto is not unique. There are some 465 cities in the United States with populations between 50,000 and 100,000 residents, and another 314 that are larger, many facing similar challenges"

"renewable-energy generation of electricity will need to replace fossil fuels. The improvements and replacements to the grid’s 8,000 power-generation units and 600,000 circuit miles of AC transmission lines (240,000 circuit miles being high-voltage lines) and 70,000 substations"

Anyone interested in the subject should probably read and understand this document. From a quick read, it looks like it puts reality on the table, which is exactly the discussion we need to have.