Utilities need upgrades for plug-in cars

subscribe

Preparing AmericaÂ’s neighborhoods to handle the additional power that electric vehicles are expected to require is among the challenges facing the utility and automotive industries as plug-in electric vehicles are introduced, DTE Energy Chairman Tony Earley said.

Almost every major automaker plans to introduce an electric car over the next three years, even though many questions about the technology remain.

Earley said the nationÂ’s power plants and major power lines are capable of providing adequate electricity to meet the additional demand but the power lines in neighborhoods need to be upgraded.

With most plug-in electric vehicles expected to cost $40,000 or more, “We can pretty much guess what neighborhoods are going to buy these vehicles,” Earley said during a panel discussion on electric vehicles in Detroit hosted by Inforum.

“You will see breakers trip and you will see transformers burn out,” Earley said.

In addition to those challenges, panelists from General Motors, Chrysler and Ford acknowledged there are many other issues facing electric cars, including the cost of the lithium-ion batteries and the need for common standards.

Still, a consensus emerged that all of those problems can be solved. In fact, this year GM plans to introduce the extended-range Chevrolet Volt and Ford Motor plans to introduce an electric Transit Connect commercial van.

“This is an idea whose time has come and the technology is emerging to match it,” Earley said.

Related News

powerlines

DOE Announces $34 Million to Improve America?s Power Grid

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $34 million for 12 innovative projects across 11 states to bolster and modernize the nation’s power grid.

Under the Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS) program, this funding is focused on developing efficient and secure undergrounding technologies. The initiative is aligned with President Biden’s vision to strengthen America's energy infrastructure, thereby creating jobs, enhancing energy and national security, and advancing towards a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm emphasized the criticality of modernizing the power grid to facilitate a future…

READ MORE
Sierra Club

Sierra Club: Governor Abbott's Demands Would Leave Texas More Polluted and Texans in the Dark

READ MORE

climate change survey

More than Two-thirds of Americans Indicate Willingness to Give or Donate Part of their Income in Support of the Fight Against Climate Change

READ MORE

ev charging

Prime minister, B.C. premier announce $1B B.C. battery plant

READ MORE

scotland power

Clocks are running slow across Europe because of an argument over who pays the electricity bill

READ MORE