EV ‘grid’ lock: why a myopic focus on grid upgrades means we’ll never reach net zero

As it stands, electric vehicle (EV) owners get home, they plug in their vehicle and it charges. That’s it. Often this is done at night when the sun isn’t shining, and we’re creating increased demand during peak periods. As EVs become more commonplace, the fear is that this will overwhelm the grid – and that, in a nutshell, is why we’re debating the investment of billions of dollars to upgrade it. The taxpayer would conceivably foot the bill for some – if not most – of these potential upgrades.

This is the chicken/egg scenario we face: to achieve net zero we need to green our transport fleet, but in doing so we may overwhelm the very grid needed to charge them. To many, the focus needs to be on updating the grid – but if we focus solely on that, we’re never going to achieve net zero.  Plain and simple.

Think of the business which needs to upgrade its infrastructure to enable EV charging: between getting approvals, installation and more, a new connection can take anywhere up to 18 months to install. Now, expand that to the wider grid – to upgrade our entire infrastructure will take years, if not decades.

It really doesn’t have to be this way. We’re looking at the problem the wrong way, and we’re incentivising the wrong things.

What we need to focus on is solving the biggest issue facing a nation that will transition to EVs, and that is the energy itself.

We need to encourage EV owners to soak up renewable energy while the sun shines and be smart about how we use energy while charging. Because right now, we’re not. For instance, many EV owners are charging using such methods as an extension cord running from the nearest power point, which is both dangerous and inefficient.

If we’re to achieve net zero we need our home charging infrastructure to become smarter and manage the charge on behalf of the EV owner. It can start charging when the grid has surplus renewable energy, or when feed-in tariffs are at their lowest i.e. off peak.  If the grid is overwhelmed, it pauses and waits until the grid is stable.

Progress is being made on this front. Origin Energy is offering Tesla owners the opportunity to charge at just $0.08 / kWh – it effectively takes over the charge schedule for the owner, through a third-party software, choosing when the car charges to make the most of surplus renewable energy and/or when demand is at its lowest. This is a step in the right direction, encouraging owners to change behaviour.

In addition, EV owners should consider small investments into their home infrastructure that will pay off over time – such as solar installation and home energy storage – and will make themselves less reliant on the grid, and thus the grid less prone to EV charging demands.

These technologies exist now, and they should be among the first things EV owners purchase as opposed to off-the-shelf ‘dumb’ charging solutions or, worse, an extension cord.

With this in mind, governments at all levels have a role to play here. They’re looking to subsidise car manufacturers to incentivise EV uptake, and at upgrading the grid to cater to increased demand. The heart is in the right place.

But subsidising the cost of installing smarter charging and energy options for the average Australian homeowner and business should be where we focus. If we do this the right way, this will help taxpayers avoid footing the bill for a wholescale grid upgrade that will take decades to come to fruition and not solve the major issue, which is the energy itself.

Author: Marcelo Salgado is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of EVOS, an Australian designer and manufacturer of EV charging equipment and software.

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