Can the Smart Grid Handle Electric Vehicle Charging Demands?

The ambitious electric vehicle development plan released recently triggered some concerns regarding the stability of the Chinese grid system. Government officials said the smart grid is efficient enough to handle a large amount of electric vehicles by the time they become prevalent in China.

“So long as the smart grid holds up, it can stand the fluctuation caused by the simultaneous recharge of numerous electric vehicles,” said Jiang Kejun, director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.

According to the plan, the number of electric cars will reach 30 to 40 million by 2030. Yang Junqian, chief expert of the smart grid, electric vehicle and renewable energy department of Schneider Electric China said the grid system’s pressure could be put to the test when hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles charge at the same time.

Since few Chinese households have private garages to charge their electric vehicles, most owners will have to rely on public recharging facilities such as recharging pillars.

The smart grid might store the power during off-peak hours to satisfy charging needs. In addition, the power consumed by electric vehicles will drop to about eight KWh from approximately 20 KWh a day.

By Victor Wu

Source: China Daily

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