| | 8 AUGUST 2024IN MY OPINIONThe emergence of electric transportation is a once-in-a-century paradigm shift for the energy and transportation industries, and each year brings more potential for growth. More than 4.7M electric vehicles (EVs) are on the road in the U.S. Commercial and industrial fleets have begun deploying EVs. By 2025, more than 130 EV models will be on the road in the U.S., including SUVs, pickup trucks, and crossovers. However, tapping into the benefits of EVs can be a complicated endeavor, requiring complex and diversified expertise in rapidly evolving technology, infrastructure requirements, policy outcomes, and consumer expectations.For more than three decades, EPRI has conducted research and development toward the decarbonization of the transportation industry. To enable a smooth transition to EVs, EPRI has co-developed, piloted, and demonstrated technology, created adoption models, and collected and analyzed real-world electric transportation data, which have identified pathways for the adoption of electric transportation. This work has encompassed the development of advising standards, the evaluation of charging applications, the analysis of energy-efficient rates, and the forecasting of demand on the electric grid.For example, in collaboration with Seattle City Light (SCL) in 2021, EPRI examined the power requirements to electrify the city's transportation and analyzed whether the current grid capacity could support these new loads. The in-depth analysis was essential in guiding future planning for the distribution system. The team also outlined a host of strategies to build momentum for electrification.On another project, Dominion Energy, with EPRI, launched a 50-bus pilot to evaluate whether electric school buses could reliably complete their daily routes and whether the capacity of Dominion's distribution grid was sufficient to handle charging. In Dominion's service territory, EPRI's analysis demonstrated that the feeders in the pilot could accommodate more than 50 buses each without any major modifications or upgrades. In addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the initiative reduced fuel costs by 80 percent compared to traditional diesel-powered vehicles.There are signs that electric transportation is positioned to take off. After all, the U.S. government's goal is for 50% of all new vehicle sales to be EVs by 2030. Even before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes EV and battery incentives, a survey found that auto executives believe that more than half of all new car sales will be EVs by 2030.Despite these incentives and the progress to date, stakeholders are COLLABORATION ACROSS MULTIPLE SECTORS CAN SPEED THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATIONBy Dan Bowermaster, Head of Electric Vehicle Research, EPRIDan Bowermaster
< Page 7 | Page 9 >