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Pecan Street Highlights Positive Driving Force of Electric Vehicles
Green Technology Featured Articles
November 20, 2013

Pecan Street Highlights Positive Driving Force of Electric Vehicles

By Kelsey Brown
TMCnet Contributing Writer

Electric vehicles have certainly plugged into the industry over the last few years, the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model S among the most popular. However, even given their popularity and ways of allowing drivers to reduce their carbon footprints and shell out fewer bucks at Shell, electric vehicles have users, particularly those in Texas and other warmer states, wondering about the effects the energy efficient automobiles have on the electric grid.


These “green” vehicles bring about the largest electric load to homes in decades. Supposedly, electric car drivers plug in their automobiles upon returning home from a long day’s work. With this influx of drivers charging their cars within the same timeframe, the electric grid becomes strained. Many skeptics figured that this strain depleted energy sources and thus encouraged the flow of “dirty fossil fuel power,” negating the intended environmental benefits of electric automobiles. Although, this theory has recently been dismissed.

Rather, a Pecan Street Research Institute study shows that electric vehicles actually impact the grid much less than projected.

The Austin-based research institute focuses its efforts on assisting utilities, consumer electronic businesses and automakers in creating and then conducting trial runs on energy-related products and services. Pecan Street then applies its data collected to more thorough studies to understand the effects of new technological solutions on the electricity system. In its most recent study, Pecan Street analyzed a sample of electric vehicles’ and their effects on the electric grid reflecting an Austin area, which boasts the highest concentration of electric cars in the United States.

The study pulled data from 31 Austin electric vehicle drivers and found that not all drivers begin charging their cars at exactly 6 p.m. In fact, most do so between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Furthermore, the study found that electric vehicles may even benefit Texas utilities. Since it seems that many charge their cars at night, when West Texas wind blows most and electricity prices decrease, utilities are able to sell inexpensive wind power to consumers. Electric utilities can also encourage customers to modify their energy usage and utilize inexpensive wind power.

Pecan Street’s studies show that electric vehicles, and other new technologies, don’t necessarily negatively impact the electric grid. In fact, Pecan Street suggests that it’s much more important to focus on real-time power flow, in order to best utilize a smart grid, which will in turn bring about a clean grid.




Edited by Blaise McNamee


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