🚀 go-pugleaf

jmc@Steam.stanford.edu (John McCarthy) wrote:
>
>   Yeah, well, EVs would be a great application for wind, inasmuch as
>   they have built-in storage.  The utility system will look quite
>   different if they become widespread.
>   
> Is the storage to be used at the convenience of the windmills or at
> the convenience of the users of the cars?  Does Tom Gray envisage a
> situation in which forecaster on TV says, "We're expecting good winds
> this morning.  The commuters should have enough charge to be able to
> start out by noon."?

No, of course not.  John, I wonder sometimes about the motives that
lead you to ask such questions.  Suppose the system were powered
entirely by nuclear, your favorite power source.  Do you envision
a situation in which everyone is required to drive around the clock
in order to run the nukes at peak efficiency?

I envision a system in which:

(1) Electricity demand is significantly higher.  That means more of
a market than exists today for ANY new power source, including wind.
At the moment, California and the Northeast have power surpluses.

(2) Large numbers of EVs are charging at night, but moderate amounts
are charging at any given time of day.  Their presence, in and of
itself, adds a significant quantity of storage capability to the
grid system that does not exist today.  Any new storage is beneficial
to intermittent sources of energy, period.

(3) The power system has increased flexibility to make use of
intermittent sources.  If wind is cheaper and more available during
the day, commuters may choose to charge their EVs at the office
rather than at home.  As a practical matter of fact, they may have
to do both, given the near-term limitations of the technology.

Tom Gray
Northeast Representative
American Wind Energy Association
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Tom Gray <tomgray@econet.org>