Energy Security: E-Mobility Relieves the Load on the Power Grid
The growing number of electric vehicles offers the opportunity to relieve the burden on Switzerland's power grid. This is shown by a TCS study.
Renewable energy sources such as solar cells on the roofs of single-family and multi-family homes, industrial plants and business districts are playing an increasingly important role in local power supply. However, this type of energy production is dependent on the respective meteorological conditions, which can lead to strong fluctuations in electricity production in each case. During winter, electricity production from renewable energy sources is known to be seasonally low. At the same time, electricity demand is high on winter days, especially in the mornings and evenings. Therefore, Switzerland has to import expensive electricity from abroad.
Load peaks in the power grid are reduced
Electric vehicles can help balance out the fluctuations in the power grid caused by the time of day by shifting the charging processes over time (unidirectionally controlled charging), TCS writes. Instead of charging the vehicle in the morning or evening, when electricity consumption is at its highest, this could be done during the day or at night. As analyses show, 95 percent of electric vehicles are parked during the day. They are hardly used during office hours, but also at night.
Bi-directional charging (vehicle to grid (V2G)) offers another way to reduce the shortage of electricity at peak times, it said. The vehicles would not only be charged with electricity, but could also feed it back into the power grid, according to TCS. Electric cars that can be charged bidirectionally are already available on the market. In the future, this technology will be standard for the majority of electric vehicles.
Both unidirectionally and bidirectionally controlled charging help to increase the stability of the power grid. At peak times, the power grid can be relieved simply by shifting the charging processes through unidirectionally controlled charging, while at the same time being supplied with additional power thanks to bidirectional charging technology.
Forecast 2030: Relief by 11 percent
According to the TCS study, a 20 percent share of bidirectional electric vehicles in the overall fleet could reduce peak loads on the power grid by five percent in 2025. By 2030, the figure is already eleven percent, the organization writes. This means that five or eleven percent less power would have to be available at peak times, which would otherwise have to be provided by expensive imports from abroad or the ramping up of power plants.
