Shropshire Star

National Grid sets the record straight over future influx of EVs

It points to ‘misinformation’ in the media and wants to clarify what the burden on the grid would be

Published

The National Grid has hit back at claims that the UK would need 10 new nuclear power plants to cope with the government’s 2040 petrol and diesel car ban.

It has been reported in the media that in order to cope with the energy requirements of a countrywide switch to electric vehicles, the UK would need to build as many as 10 nuclear power plants.

However, the energy company has said that these claims are misleading and have been taken out of context.

In its Future Energy Scenarios (FES) analysis, which was published in July, the National Grid laid out a selection of different energy use scenarios based on consumer attitudes, economic prosperity, EV uptake and a number of other factors.

Of the four scenarios published, Two Degrees was the one the National Grid thought was most in line with the government’s 2040 announcement. This predicted that most cars would be EVs, consumer demand for green technologies would be high – with particular focus on solar, wind and nuclear energy sources.

Under this scenario, it predicts that additional peak energy demand from EVs alone would be about 5 GW, which represents an eight per cent increase on today’s peak demand value.

The claims surrounding peak demand rising by as much as 30 GW are based on another scenario called High EV, which the National Grid says is far less likely to happen.

High EV looked at what would happen if all tailpipe emissions were banned by 2040 and if the price of EVs fell dramatically. It also predicted a scenario where there was little concern for environmental issues, and that society was prosperous enough that 85 per cent of people who could charge their cars at peak times and at peak prices would do so.

However, in a ‘myth-buster’ published by the National Grid, the organisation states: “As we stress in FES, we see this [High EV] as an outlier that is possible but not one of our core scenarios.

“The scenario which best fits the government’s statement is Two Degrees. The additional peak demand from EVs in that scenario is not 30 GW but more likely to be 5 GW.

“The 30 GW often quoted is from our more extreme, but possible, sensitivity called High EV. In this sensitivity there are no nuclear power stations by 2050 – and certainly not 10 as often quoted. Nuclear power stations would not be the best option for meeting peak demand.”

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