https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Public Works & Utilities


Unsplash/Chuttersnap

CommentaryNews

Report: There’s an impending ‘tsunami’ of electric vehicles set to hit American roads and utilities should prepare

Report: There’s an impending ‘tsunami’ of electric vehicles set to hit American roads and utilities should prepare

  • Written by Andrew Castillo
  • 2nd November 2021

With global leaders meeting this week at a United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, much media focus is centered on environmentally friendly solutions. With technology evolving quickly to meet increasingly strong political demands, an era marked by coal-fired plants and skylines smothered by smog is drawing to a close. 

There’s no going back to the way things used to be. Cities and counties of the future will be built with clean energy—and public agencies need to be prepared to meet the fluctuating grid demands associated with those technological advancements.

“The wave of electrification is on the horizon,” notes a report issued this month by the United States Department of Energy on this transition to clean energy, particularly in the transportation sector. “With millions of personal and commercial electric vehicles (EVs) set to hit U.S. roads in the coming decade, that wave may be more like a tsunami. Merging the transportation and electricity sectors has the potential to fundamentally transform how customers fuel vehicles and how goods are transported across the country.”

The report, “An EV Future: Navigating the Transition,” was compiled by the federal energy department’s Office of Electricity Advanced Grid Research Division and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office through 33 meetings with industry experts (66 hours total), including representatives from the American Public Power Association, a statement from the organization notes. 

Among takeaways from those meetings, the power association’s statement highlights a “recognition that EV loads are mobile and unpredictable and, therefore, processes and regulations may need to evolve to respond to customer requirements. The participants also noted that social justice issues will require special attention as the country moves away from an early adopter phase.”

This impending electrification will require “hundreds of terawatts of power” across many different modalities—personal vehicle travel, freight and public transit, among others—the report notes. Further, the way in which electricity is provided will fundamentally shift: “providing electricity is no longer a one-way street. Information flow needs to be bidirectional. EVs and other emerging technologies are capable of interacting with the grid in a more symbiotic manner to maximize efficiency,” the report says.

While utilities have adapted to technological changes in the past, vehicular electrification poses a unique challenge because of its potential scale and the interdependency on “myriad stakeholders across the sectors.” From corporations to consumers, the technological evolution “will redefine relationships, introduce new partnerships, and require new thinking to tackle not only the technical challenges but the cultural, institutional and policy barriers that will arise,” the report says. 

At the cusp of this transition, there are steps city and utility administrators can take (and many already are), the report continues. For example, utilities can build partnerships with community organizations and private businesses like car dealerships/manufacturers to brainstorm solutions and access technical information that would be helpful in building out public infrastructure. Architecture and building firms can “establish electric vehicle charging early in the design process. It can also facilitate a more collaborative process when proposing new building codes or mandates.”

Mandates and codes are an essential element in the preparation process; however, whatever is enacted now might have to be adapted down the road. Early adopters of emerging technologies are usually well-to-do, the report notes. But as electric vehicles become more affordable, the customer base will become more diverse. Given these discrepancies, plans and policies designed exclusively around those driving today’s electric vehicles “are likely to fail drivers from underserved, lower-income communities.”

Aiding in this, the report says that surveys, forecasting and planning—both now and as electric vehicles come online—will help utilities better understand and meet the needs of their community. 

“Utilities need charge data to build accurate load profiles that will ensure sufficient capacity and system reliability. Lacking actual data, utilities must depend on calculations and projections,” the report says. These profiles can include an analysis of local business fleets, forecasts of EV usage, charging patterns and driver practices.

Communities can also take stock of grid infrastructure, some of which might not be able to handle future load requirements. On paper, charging vehicles at a residential scale might seem like something a grid can handle, “but aging infrastructure can be a limiting factor. Lower voltage conductors or older transformers that are still functional might not be able to accommodate additional load,” the report says—especially if an entire neighborhood decides to convert to electric vehicles.

If a residential cluster emerges or a corporation decides to convert its fleet to electric, “the transformer might not be capable of handling the additional load.”

In surveying community needs, the report suggests, among other things, that utility administrators “Do a ‘white roof survey’: Using Google Maps, locate transportation and distribution centers by their large, white rooftops. Check the airports: Many airports are now specifying zero-emission requirements as part of their tenant lease agreements. Utilities with major airports in their service territories may find fleets looking to electrify here. Join a trucking association: State trucking associations offer opportunities to network with local trucking industry leaders.”

For more information and to view the department of energy’s report in its entirety, visit bit.ly/2ZJDHHX.

Tags: homepage-featured-1 homepage-featured-2 homepage-featured-4 News Public Works & Utilities News Public Works & Utilities Commentary News

Most Recent


  • Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships
    The so-called “American dream” of upward mobility has more or less stagnated: Today, a little more than 40 percent of children raised at the bottom of the income ladder remain there as adults, according to Pew Charitable Trusts, and only half grow up to earn more than their parents. This data points to a concerning […]
  • Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
    Infrastructure highlighted by city leaders as top priority in analysis of 60 mayoral addresses
    After two years of ping-pong lockdown orders, mask mandates, unprecedented vaccine drives and economic uncertainty, cities across the United States are beginning to emerge in the pandemic’s aftermath, and they’re prioritizing infrastructure, according to a report published Wednesday by the National League of Cities (NLC).  “The new normal, as we now understand it, is here,” […]
  • FirstNet Authority CTO highlights coverage-extension efforts as initial Band 14 buildout nears completion
    With AT&T almost done deploying the initial contracted FirstNet 700 MHz Band 14 infrastructure, the FirstNet Authority increasingly is focusing on solutions that will let public-safety users access the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) when outside of terrestrial system, according to FirstNet officials. FirstNet Authority CTO Jeff Bratcher said that NPSBN contractor AT&T repeatedly has […]
  • Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative adds 15 new cities to program
    Researchers have correlated access to nature with positive impacts like lower stress and anxiety, leading to higher academic achievement, increased emotional learning, stronger social connections, better self esteem, and a greater sense of environmental stewardship. But in today’s built environment, where concrete and brick dominate landscapes, nature is often a car drive or train ride away—and […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Report: Disparity in perspectives among utility officials, consumers, when it comes to electric grid challenges
  • Report: There’s an impending ‘tsunami’ of electric vehicles set to hit American roads and utilities should prepare
    Infrastructure, connectivity, and the two-tier American economy
  • The utility of data
  • Building smarter cities

White papers


How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022

Hand Hygiene: Compliance Matters

23rd May 2022

What it Takes to Build a Winning Esports Program

23rd May 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Report: Local and state governments are facing a retention crisis; the worst could be yet to come dlvr.it/SSnmS7

24th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships dlvr.it/SSkGBn

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making dlvr.it/SSk3H0

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Infrastructure highlighted by city leaders as top priority in analysis of 60 mayoral addresses dlvr.it/SSgBck

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Oklahoma City puts the focus on employees when implementing changes in office technology dlvr.it/SSfyns

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

We want to hear from you! Please take this brief survey and let us know how your organization is managing your budg… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Buying smart solutions: Technology is now part of (almost) every government purchase dlvr.it/SSbj3Z

21st June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid tech labor shortage, outsourcing digital services could provide relief dlvr.it/SSbj23

21st June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X