Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110200 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Citation: 
[Journal:] DIW Economic Bulletin [ISSN:] 2192-7219 [Volume:] 5 [Issue:] 17 [Publisher:] Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) [Place:] Berlin [Year:] 2015 [Pages:] 235-242
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
The German government plans to significantly increase the deployment of electric vehicles. What impact would this have on the country's power system and carbon emissions? This question was addressed as part of a European research project analyzing various scenarios up to 2030. One of the key findings of the study is that total annual power consumption of the four to five million electric vehicles (depending on the scenario) would be small. However, recharging the vehicles, particularly in an uncontrolled charging mode, which involves the car being fully recharged as rapidly as possible after being connected to the electricity grid, would result in problematic peak loads in the power system. The type of additional power generation required for electric vehicles also largely depends on the charging mode. For example, a charging mode that minimizes system costs would use a particularly high share of power from hard-coal- and lignite-fired plants, which, in turn, would result in an above-average level of specific carbon emissions of the charging electricity. If the electricity and transport sectors are both considered, it becomes evident that the introduction of electromobility would result in a significant net reduction in carbon emissions only if linked with an additional expansion of renewable energy sources compared to current plans.
Subjects: 
electric vehicles
power system modelling
carbon emissions
JEL: 
Q42
R41
Q54
Document Type: 
Article

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