Electric Car Myth Buster — The Electrical Grid – by Steve Hanley (Clean Technica – February 25, 2018)

https://cleantechnica.com/

The CleanTechnica Myth Buster series is intended to counteract the wealth of misinformation and outright lies about electric cars that is currently found on the internet. Usually, these “talking points” are taken straight from hit pieces bought and paid for by organizations supported by the Koch Brothers.

According to the Washington Post, the Dastardly Duo have committed to spending up to $10 million a year to spread misinformation about electric cars and promote the advantages of fossils fuels.

The front group for this assault was called Fueling US Forward, which was formed in 2017, then quietly shut down in October with all references to its existence on the internet deleted. But not before publications like Forbes and the Wall Street Journal ran propaganda pieces provided by shadowy figures associated with Koch Industries.

If all the stories sounded the same, that’s because they all originated from the same source. Here are some of the lies you may have come across: A) Electric cars will cause the utility grid to crash. B) Utility companies will have to spend gazillions of dollars to upgrade the grid, which will drive up the cost of electricity for everyone just so a few swells can drive Teslas. Let’s take them in order.

Electric Cars Will Crash The Grid

Will more electric cars cause the grid to crash? Matteo Muratori of the National Renewable Energy Lab took a look at that question recently and decided the answer is no. His research suggests the existing grid can cope just fine with more electric cars on the road.

In fact, it can handle the demand that would occur if 25% of the cars on the road are electric. After that, system upgrades will be necessary, but we are a long way away from that 25% number right now and will be for many years to come.

For the rest of this article: https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/25/electric-car-myth-buster-electrical-grid/