Matteo Muratori, who leads a research team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is frustrated at social media posts warning that the rapid growth in electric vehicles will break the US electricity grid. The increase in electricity demand, or load, that will come as the US transportation system transforms to electric drive won’t be any different from what occurred when air conditioning began to be widely adopted, he says.
“Utilities are excited. Selling more electricity is their business,” Muratori says. “We build new industrial facilities, new hospitals, and new schools, and they make sure the electricity is there to support those needs.” To balance supply with demand, the grid evolves on a daily basis as new load is added.
Michael Kintner-Meyer, an electrical engineer who leads mobility research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, agrees. “The lights will not go out,” he says, and there isn’t a tipping point that will...
