BEN Reading Group 10/16: Are Electric Vehicles Spelling Trouble?

BEN Reading Group! This month's reading:
 

The Potential of Grid Integration of Electric Vehicles in Shanghai

Author, Dr. Liu Jian (刘坚), will be at this eventSunday October 16th, 2016 at 2:30pm
Na's Cafe (Dongzhimen)

It's time for the next BEN Reading Group event!  This monthly event allows BEN members to dive deeper into subjects addressed at our BEN talks.  

Here’s how it works:

• Each month, BEN’s coordinators select a reading related to China’s energy and environment (a report, an article, a short book, etc.)

• Anyone interested in the reading can sign up for that month’s BEN Reading Group; and you'll have a couple of weeks to complete the reading

• The reading group will meet in small groups (6-8 people) to discuss the reading. If possible, BEN will invite someone from the author-organization to also attend the discussion.

• Discussion will last around an hour and a half; attendees are free to leave earlier (or later), as they wish.

There will be two Reading Groups, one for readings in English and another for readings in Mandarin.  Descriptions of this month's readings are below.

 

This Month's Reading

   Electric vehicles (EVs) have been touted as a powerful solution to China's urban air pollution. On contrast, how large-scale, unmanaged EV charging would impact the operations of power grids is being given less attention. When allowed to charge at will, drivers tend to flock to middays and evenings, which usually coincides with the existing peak electric demand on the grid. The ramification of this temporal coincidence that in big metropolises like Shanghai, unmanaged charging from a rapidly expanding stock of EVs could soon send grid operators scrambling for additional power supplies, or worse still, cause cascading blackouts at exact times of day when the power grid is needed most. In this month’s report, we’ll be discussing the economic incentives and technologies in the next 15 years to shift EV charging times to off-peak hours in Shanghai. Moving charging times would not only help to stabilize the Shanghai grid, currently handling peak loads comparable to that of the entire state of New York, but could also entail huge charging cost savings to consumers if enabled by variable electricity pricing.

     Economically induced changes in EV charging patterns are a textbook example of utilizing consumer behaviors for the larger energy system as a valuable demand-side resource. Dispatching EVs to avoid system blackouts in lieu of procuring additional coal-fired generators have economic and environmental values. The idea of EVs and other electricity consumers becoming an energy service provider turns the century-old electricity business model on its head, and could prove a low-cost way for China to deliver its climate commitment that is pivotal to the global race to defuse climate change.

To get reports in Chinese and English, please log into this public email address:        [e-mail]

Password: 20161016

This Month's Reading Group Location

Na's Cafe
 
东直门内大街6号楼8号
（dongzhimen nei dajie, Bldg 6, #8)
 Nearest Metro StationDongzhimen (Line 2)Phone: [phone]

Sign Up to Join the BEN Reading Group!
To sign up, click the "Read More"link below and complete the short online form, with your name, where you work/study, and whether you want to join the English or Chinese reading group (this helps us to plan group sizes and venue space).

Click "Read More" to Sign Up !

---- About the Beijing Energy Network----

 北京能源网络
The Beijing Energy Network (BEN) is a grassroots organization help understand and tackle China’s energy and environmental challenges across a wide range of sectors. BEN organizes Beijing Energy & Environmental Roundtables, a regular speaker series that are open to anyone who is interested. We ask that our speaker's remarks remain off the record unless otherwise permitted.

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