Charging Your EV: Where Does the Energy Comes From?
A reader answers the question above, followed by my comments in italics:This is a function of your utility’s grid mix. There will likely be a lot of gas, possibly some coal, hydro is common, nukes, and of course solar and wind.
This implies that the average grid-mix determines the resources used in charging an EV, which is incorrect. Charging electric vehicles means adding a predictable, incremental load onto the grid, so the only operative question is how that incremental load is met. Keep in mind that grid operators are already integrating as much renewable energy as possible, so it is definitely not met with more solar or wind. The answer to the question is that here in 2022, charging an EV at night means more natural gas in the western part of the U.S., and more coal in the east.
The grid is adding more solar and wind every year than oil, coal, and gas combined.
This is true, and along with more energy storage and better transmission, we’re definitely headed in the right direction.
If you have a good roof for solar, that’s a great investment. I installed solar in 2002 and got my first EV the same year. The money I saved not buying gasoline or electricity paid for the solar in 2010, so since then, and for the rest of my life, I get to power my home, cars, and motorcycles with clean solar energy – for free.
There is no question that overbuilding a solar array for charging EVs is a great plan, again, if one has a south-facing surface that is unobstructed by trees.
