EV
News & Numbers
According
to Pike Research, the EV world will host 7.7
million by vehicles in 2017. One Pike researcher said, “EVSE prices
will fall by 37% through 2017 as costs are driven lower by competition from
large electronics companies as well as volume production.
“In the
face of this trend, manufacturers will integrate their equipment with external
storage units, home energy management systems, and smart grid equipment to add
value and increase their revenue.”
EPRI
issues technical guide: The
Electric Power Research Institute has taken a look at the utility role in EV
integration and written a report about it.
Where
The Smart Grid fits: According to an EnergyBiz.com article on utilities and EVs (note that
PJM is the independent system operator in the Mid-Atlantic region), “Better
Place and PJM recently studied the impact 1 million EVs would have in the Washington-Baltimore
area. Plugging them in on a random basis would require $7750 million worth of
wholesale power a year.
“However,
‘smart charging’ the cars through a centrally controlled network would halve
the increase in whole- sale energy costs, according to the study. Call it a
smart grid app.”
EVs:
Negative Stories
Many
ask for charging stations, few use them according to a story posted to Auto123.com.
Morningstar’s
analysis on
Istockanalyst.com, "There’s No Rush To Plug In," said, “Although an affordable,
quick-charging, zero-emissions EV with no range anxiety is ideal, we do not see
this goal being realized anytime soon. Batteries still make up about half of
the manufacturing cost for an electric vehicle, which means automakers likely
lose money on every EV they make.
“There
are major infrastructure problems that are slowly being addressed, such as
public charging stations and the fact that very long recharging times can limit
a driver's travel flexibility.”
Questionable
future: The National
Legal and Policy Center says that, in backing EVs, the DOE “may have dumped
a bunch of money into a technology with a questionable future.”
Resistance
to cost in the South: An EPRI
survey of consumers in the service areas of the Tennessee Valley Authority
and Southern Company produced interesting results:
“What factors influence a car
buyer’s likelihood to go electric? Survey results point to the availability of
multiple locations to charge, and the availability of fast charging technology.
Results also show that consumers may be hesitant to pay for faster charging,
with more than 50 percent in both surveys unwilling to pay $500 to install an
optional 220V upgrade system in their home for fast charging electric
vehicles.”
The
Pro Side
The
article "Electric drive: Building
the case for investment in innovation", from the Electric Drive Transportation Association
said, “The
hybrid market has grown from a few model offerings a decade ago to more than
30, with vehicles to meet diverse driving needs. More than 20 plug-in electric
models will be available by the end of 2012. These private investments are
growing employment throughout the supply chain: advanced component suppliers
already employ an estimated 155,000 U.S. workers.”