Charging Smart Drivers and Utilities Can Both Benefit from Well-Integrated Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy

The report examines the potential for electric vehicles to act as flexible loads to balance electricity supply and demand, particularly to mitigate the 'duck curve' caused by high solar penetration. It analyzes technical barriers, utility roles, and rate designs, concluding that managed charging can reduce system costs and emissions if aligned with clean energy availability.

• Electric vehicles can mitigate the 'duck curve'—a regional grid-scale challenge where midday solar production creates a surplus and evening demand requires rapid ramping—by shifting charging loads to the middle of the day.
• Smart charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) configurations can provide essential grid services, including frequency regulation, demand response, and voltage control, though V2G faces barriers regarding battery degradation and interconnection regulations.
• Managed charging can reduce the need for new generation capacity; modeling suggests that by 2030, a managed charging scenario could result in approximately 17 GW less total generating capacity compared to an unmanaged scenario, primarily by avoiding new natural gas capacity.
• Current utility rate designs, such as demand charges for businesses and imprecise time-of-use (TOU) periods, can deter the adoption of workplace charging and the use of EVs as flexible loads.
• While managed charging generally lowers electricity prices, it may slightly increase carbon dioxide emissions if charging is shifted to off-peak hours powered by high-emission sources like coal, unless algorithms specifically prioritize clean energy.
• Workplace charging is identified as a high-value opportunity to absorb midday solar surpluses and increase EV adoption, though it is less suitable for frequency regulation due to limited vehicle availability hours.
• The report recommends that 'smart' charging be defined to include pollution reduction, suggesting the use of algorithms like WattTime to ensure vehicles charge when the cleanest power is available.

APA

O’Connor, P., & Jacobs, M. (2017). Charging Smart Drivers and Utilities Can Both Benefit from Well-Integrated Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/05/Charging-Smart-full-report.pdf

Chicago

O’Connor, Pete, and Mike Jacobs. Charging Smart Drivers and Utilities Can Both Benefit from Well-Integrated Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2017. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/05/Charging-Smart-full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=O’Connor |first1=Pete |last2=Jacobs |first2=Mike |title=Charging Smart Drivers and Utilities Can Both Benefit from Well-Integrated Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=May 2017 |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/05/Charging-Smart-full-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{oconnor2017charging, author = {O’Connor, Pete and Jacobs, Mike}, title = {{Charging Smart Drivers and Utilities Can Both Benefit from Well-Integrated Electric Vehicles and Clean Energy}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/05/Charging-Smart-full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }