Electric cars are coming fast – is the nation’s grid up to it?

Re:Electric cars are coming fast – is the nation’s grid up t... by seanmcdirmid on Saturday January 30, 2021 @04:02PM (#25972951)

Nuclear is pretty constant (hard to stop and start like coal), if it is part of the mix then EVs can soak up output at night.

I live in the PNW, hydro is fairly flexible so we don’t get off peak discounts. California uses a lot of hydro also, I suspect they are using more of that rather than coal to fill in the gaps between solar

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Re:Electric cars are coming fast – is the nation’s grid up t... by Rebelgecko on Saturday January 30, 2021 @04:22PM (#25973132)

Natural gas is the preferred fossil fuel here. It spins up faster than coal, and as a result California has had to delay the decommissioning of nat gas plants as nuclear ones have been shut down.

Hydro is a pretty small part of our grid (real-time and historical data here: https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html)

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Re:Electric cars are coming fast – is the nation’s grid up t... by seanmcdirmid on Saturday January 30, 2021 @04:29PM (#25973195)

Hydro is almost as much as solar according to https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/califo... when PNW imports are considered.

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Re:Electric cars are coming fast – is the nation’s grid up t... by njarboe on Saturday January 30, 2021 @04:22PM (#25973129)

California is shutting down its last nuclear plant in 2025 due to new cooling water regulations.

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