POWER August 2011 - 75

ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Accelerating the Pace of
EV Deployment
A number of automotive manufacturers, electric utilities, electric power associations,
and research groups are working to develop and evaluate technical
approaches to integrating plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) into the U.S.
electrical grid system. This is a key requirement of facilitating widespread,
near-term adoption of PEVs by the American public.
By Angela Neville, JD
T
he automotive sector is undergoing an
electrifying transformation. Since the
introduction of automobiles that used
internal combustion engines, gasoline has
been the fuel of choice. Now, however, a
number of diverse groups are working hard
to make electricity the fuel source for a new
breed of transportation vehicles.
To learn more about the emerging electric
transportation sector, in April, POWER interviewed
three individuals who have a variety
of perspectives: representatives from a leading
electric power trade association, a major U.S.
utility, and an electric power research group.
Basic Overview of Electric Vehicles
There are three broad categories of electric
vehicles (EVs):
■ Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) use a
combination of a gasoline engine and an
electric motor to power the car. The electric
motor generates electricity during
braking, which can subsequently power
the vehicle at slower speeds.
■ Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
are a derivative of HEVs that typically have
a larger battery and can be plugged into a
charger on the wall of the owner's garage or
at a charging station. This enables a PHEV
to travel true electric miles with power from
the grid for a limited distance at limited
speeds. PHEVs can also run on gasoline for
as long as needed between charges.
■ Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) have a
specially designed battery and use only
an electric motor to power the car. PEVs
are fueled exclusively from grid electricity
and have no tailpipe or gas tank.
One PEV model, the Nissan Leaf, is now
available in the U.S. Another PEV model, the
Ford Focus Electric (Figure 1), will be available
in the U.S. later this year. According to
a Car & Driver article published in January,
Ford expects the Focus Electric to have a better
August 2011 | POWER
miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) rating than
the PHEV Chevrolet Volt's 93 MPGe. The Nissan
Leaf scores a 99 MPGe rating. The Focus
Electric's battery is about the same size as the
Leaf's, which is estimated to enable the Leaf to
go approximately 70 miles on a single charge.
However, even more than with gas-powered vehicles,
actual range on a full charge depends on
terrain, speed, weather, and driver habits.
Electric Vehicles' Impact on the
U.S. Grid
Some critics are concerned that the transition
from traditional automobiles to PEVs could
have a potentially negative impact on the
U.S. electrical grid system. The main question
is whether the grid will be able to handle
all those electric cars recharging their batteries
at the same time, or whether the grid will
be sufficiently modernized in time to more
easily accommodate the new vehicles. (For
a discussion of the intersection of EVs and
the smart grid, see " Smart Grid 2011: More
Than Meters, " in our January 2011 issue and
" The Smart Grid and Distributed Generation:
Better Together, " in our April 2011 issue or
our online archives at www.powermag.com.)
" Studies have shown that even in neighborhoods
with older or smaller-capacity transformers,
three to four electric vehicles would
have to be added to a single transformer to become
a problem, " Rick Tempchin, the executive
director of Retail Energy Services at the
Edison Electric Institute, told POWER. " Transformer
maintenance and grid management are
part of what electric utilities do; the coming of
mass market electric cars is no different than
previous waves of new electric products such
as air conditioners or large-screen TVs. "
The grid has surplus capacity built into
it, particularly at night, when electricity demand
is at its lowest, and when PEVs are
most likely to be recharging. Also, it will
be several years before PEVs become widespread
enough to put a serious strain on the
grid, according to Tempchin.
www.powermag.com
1. Cruising into the future. The 2012
Ford Focus Electric vehicle's all-electric design
features an electric motor, charging port, and
high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack. The car is
targeted to go up to 100 miles on a single charge,
and the battery is rechargeable using a 120- or
240-volt outlet. Courtesy: Ford Motor Corp.
Arun Banskota, president of NRG EV
Services (a subsidiary of NRG Energy), explained
to POWER that the utility NRG Energy
is in the process of setting up " eVgo, "
which is a dedicated system of home EV
charging docks and network charging stations
united by set-rate charging plans.
" The Texas cities where eVgo is building
our infrastructure have a strong grid that can
handle the projected number of electric vehicles
for the foreseeable future, " he said. " As
more electric vehicles are sold, we will be able
to monitor charging locations to ensure we can
increase the transformer number and size as
well as distribution lines, as appropriate. "
Improving EV Performance
Despite earlier challenges, automotive manufacturers
recently have made a number of
advances in EV design.
" The modern electric vehicle has been in
development for over 20 years, " said Mark
Duvall, director of Electric Transportation at
the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
" This started in the 1990s with vehicles like
the GM EV1 and other battery electric vehicles
from Toyota, Ford, etc. Plug-in vehicles
require a whole host of 'new' automotive
components, including advanced batteries,
high-power drive motors, power electronics,
and electrified accessories. "
75
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POWER August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER August 2011

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