Whenever zero emission electric drive replaces the 280 million gas-burning vehicles that currently travel along US roads, there will be a collective freakout over the cost of new power generation assets needed to handle the load. Or not, as the case may be. The electric vehicle of 2050 could be a more efficient piece of machinery than today’s models, enabling them to push fossil fuels aside while reducing the need for new energy infrastructure.
The electric vehicle of 2050 is the subject of a new study from EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, in collaboration with the organization NRDC. Under the title, “Valuing Improvements in Electric Vehicle Efficiency,” the study assesses how lightweighting and other efficiency improvements could help offset the increased demand for power generation as electric vehicles begin flooding the streets..” The model opens a window into the future of power generation by combining three models in one, consisting of dispatch/capacity, consumer behavior, and fuel supply. “The three models are solved iteratively to convergence, allowing analysis of policy impacts on the electric sector taking into account electricity demand responses, and conversely allowing analysis of how economy-wide energy policies and technological improvements impact electric demand and load shapes,” EPRI explain