A low-tech way to solve for EV's grid strain and solar oversupply

The tension between the need to decarbonize transportation and the resulting grid strain of such a massive increase in electricity demand seems to be popular in the headlines over the last year. I remember one study that estimated a full electrification of a highway truck stop if most 18-wheelers were EVs would require as much electricity as a small town. 

Are we ready for the consequences of a full EV revolution? A new study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says, actually, we might be, and it may not require new technology such as two-way EV charging. It may be as simple as changing the culture around charging times. If we solve this, we then could solve another problem: the oversupply of solar power during the day, when electricity demand is low. 

Electrification of transportation and the decarbonization of electricity are paths that are inextricably linked as we try to build a more sustainable world, the study says. Right now, we have a proliferation of EVs whose owners prefer to charge at night after they get home—when electricity demand is highest and when solar power availability has diminished with the setting sun. We also have a solar power ecosystem that provides surplus electricity during the day when electricity usage is low—a trend that hurts the market for solar. 

MIT is, of course, one of the great technological institutions in the world. Yet, the solution they propose has less to do with technology and more to do with behavior. What if we focused on moving electric car charging stations to offices and places of work? A simple solution with profound impacts: EV charging puts less of a strain on a grid because they are charging during a time when electricity is plentiful; oversupply of solar is taken care of because excess solar can find a home inside an electric vehicle; and the cost of charging an EV is decreased as the cost of energy is lower during the day. 

According to the study, if EV chargers prefer to charge at work, approximately 80% of increased electricity demand from charging will be offset by solar generation. 

What will it take to change this culture? Well, the private sector and the government will have to work together to incentivize a proliferation of EV charging stations at work. This isn’t to say we need to eliminate at home charging stations, but to need them less could work wonders for our society’s ability to handle the weight of EV and decarbonization ambitions. I don’t think this will be hard sell either - if gas was cheaper while I was at work as opposed to while I was home, I would reserve filling up at home for emergencies and rely on my workplace gas station almost exclusively. 

What do you think about this idea? Sometimes the best solutions are a matter of logistics with what we already have rather than a new and complicated technology.