Thursday, September 29, 2011

Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles

I'm looking forward to attending Greentech Media's conference titled "The Networked EV--Smart Grids and Electric Vehicles" on October 20 in San Francisco. 

One criticism that is often made is that the electric grid can't handle electric cars.  The quick response is that charging at night takes advantage of unused capacity and does not require any new power plants.  However, as we make the necessary leap to 100% electric cars, that will no longer be the case.  So the question of how the grid can get ready for this leap is an important one.

Also, many EV's need to have a place to charge during the day, say if someone's commute is too long for a round trip.  So the conference will look at charging infrastructure.

And the conference will feature a debate between Felix Kramer of Cal Cars and someone more skeptical of the electric car future. 

I'm also interested in finding out how many utility companies offer the same very low off-peak (Midnight-7AM) rates that PG&E offers--i.e. 4 cents per kwh plus some fixed charges.  This time of use rate is crucial to making electric cars cost effective, and I would like to see it offered nationwide.

If you are interested in the conference, please sign up at The Networked EV - 2011

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