2024-01-30 23:40:06
Hydro-Québec is forced to review its electricity consumption forecasts in Quebec, due to the popularity of electric vehicles, but also because of the Legault government’s new ambitions to electrify the automobile fleet.
A document filed with the Régie de l’énergie shows that the state-owned company must modify its 2023-2032 Plan to adjust to the anticipated growth in the number of electric cars.
Hydro-Québec calculates that, by 2032, it will be necessary to add 1.2 terawatt hours (TWh) to the overall energy demand already forecast, solely because of the needs of this type of vehicle. To give an order of magnitude, 1.2 TWh is the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 70,000 Quebec families.
The state-owned company wrote to the Régie on January 19 that it was “the strengthening of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) standard” that forced it to review its calculations. The Quebec government announced last year that its Plan for a Green Economy is now aiming for a target of 2 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030 rather than 1.6 million.
Open in full screen mode
There are 250,000 electric cars registered in Quebec.
Photo : getty images/istockphoto / Scharfsinn86
Hydro-Québec had underestimated demand
On November 30, in a parliamentary committee, senior management of Hydro-Québec admitted that they had not seen such a request coming.
Look at the number of electric vehicles we have on our roads today, compared to just two years ago. There is significant electrification. There is a significant demand for electricity, which exceeds what was anticipated.
This statement greatly surprises professor at the University of Montreal Normand Mousseau, scientific director of the Trottier Energy Institute, who supervised an anticipation study on the needs of an all-electric Quebec automobile fleet.
Not having seen the number of electric vehicles in 2023 coming in 2021 does not hold water, according to him. The trend was clear, we saw exponential growth. It’s no surprise where we are today.
Start of widget. Skip the widget?
End of widget. Return to start of widget?
There are more than 250,000 electric vehicles registered in Quebec.
Normand Mousseau doubts that we will reach the government’s objective of two million vehicles in 2030, with the problems of car delivery times.
I have a brother who ordered an electric vehicle, he was told it will be two years before he gets it. So, it will not be part of the 300,000 vehicles that should be added this year to reach our objective.
The federal government has also announced a target of 100% electric vehicles among new vehicles sold in 2035.
If we ever reach our targets, will we be able to load all these cars?
In 2035, electric vehicles will eat up a third of Hydro-Québec’s added power
The state-owned company recently announced a gigantic project to add up to 9,000 megawatts (MW) of power to its network. Power is the ability to provide electricity to all those who demand it at the same time.
A third of all this added power will be used solely to charge the province’s electric vehicles. The table presented by Hydro-Québec to the Régie de l’énergie shows a need of 2922 MW, just for that, in 2035.
Start of widget. Skip the widget?
End of widget. Return to start of widget?
Hydro-Québec analyzes show that owners of electric vehicles most often charge them between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
According to Professor Normand Mousseau, it will be necessary to put in place “regulations for controlling recharge” in order to manage the winter peak.
Last year, Hydro-Québec underestimated the demand for electricity during a severe cold at the beginning of February. Record consumption by all Quebecers, more than 43,000 MW, had significantly exceeded forecasts.
In 2050, electric vehicles alone could consume 6,000 MW during a peak, according to the state-owned company.
Teleworking helps Hydro-Québec during peak periods
Hydro-Québec writes to the Régie that it has received new electric vehicle charging data that takes into account the new reality of teleworking. Thus, staggering charging hours could reduce the anticipated impact during peaks of 73 MW.
In addition, an offer currently in development and favoring the movement of charging during the night is also taken into account in the forecast, writes the state company.
Over such a distant horizon, Hydro-Québec also anticipates that technological developments will greatly change the portrait of the vehicle fleet, particularly battery technologies which will see their weight decrease and their capacity increase. This will have an impact on the frequency of charging needs.
Finally, forecasters believe that electric vehicles could become tools for managing peak consumption with bidirectional power technologies that will allow the electric car to serve as a battery to power the home during peak winter consumption.
1706662079
#Demand #electric #vehicles #exceeds #HydroQuébec #forecasts