Will you soon have to choose between your car or your kettle? Do not panic
Electricity demand in the Netherlands peaked just over ten years ago, when there were no EVs. We then consumed more than 115,000 GWh in a year, according to CBS. Five million electric cars would use 12,500 GWh per year, or one-ninth of the network capacity we already had at the time. In 2019, before the pandemic but with quite a few EVs on the road already, we were at 113,000 GWh. So it looks like the net may have growth for now.
Will there be enough power for electric cars in the future?
By 2050, we will use much less fossil fuels, especially for industry and heating. The network capacity will therefore increase considerably. Compared to now, a multiple of the energy will also be renewable. (In 2020, more than a quarter of our total energy production was renewable, i.e. from sun, wind, water or biomass, while production from coal decreased. The Netherlands has many natural gas plants – which produce the lion’s share of our electricity.)
And if everyone starts charging at the same time?
But energy is power over a period of time. If everyone plugged in their EV at the same time, we would overwhelm the power grid. Cars therefore have to charge at times when there is little further demand. This can be facilitated by flexible electricity prices. If there is a lot or little electricity available, providers can adjust their price. An app on your phone or in your meter cupboard can keep track of this and tell your car to start (or stop) charging if the price falls below (or above) a certain limit.
There’s another reason for flexible pricing
The main types of renewable energy fluctuate in availability. At night there is no sun, sometimes there is little wind. We have to use the electricity when it is available. It is therefore possible that the electricity will become cheaper during the day, instead of the other way around.
Okay, so there’s plenty of power – but can you get it in the right place?
Many people will recharge their cars at home. Most streets have enough capacity to serve all wallboxes, especially if localized flex pricing encourages them not to load cars when all ovens are on. The situation is different with fast chargers: they require many megawatts of power. Fortunately, high-voltage pylons are often close to highways, so tapping them shouldn’t be a big problem.
