Vehicle-Grid Integration & Transport Electrification Efforts in California

As mobile sources account for 37% of California's greenhouse gases and over 80% of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide air pollutants, the electrification of the transportation sector is essential for the State to achieve its climate change mitigation and health-based clean air goals. Volume-based production and system design improvements have increased the range and decreased recharging times of commercially-available passenger vehicles, but their rate of adoption must accelerate substantially in order for California to achieve its statutory targets under Senate Bill 350. Meanwhile, electric utilities, have entered the charging infrastructure sector as providers of electric fuel and are now competing with unregulated third parties. Furthermore, rapid changes in electrical generation resources have posed challenges with grid operations but also opportunities for electric transportation. How can California reduce emissions with electrification quickly while balancing the need to maintain reliability, reasonable costs, and enabling a sustainable private sector? This lecture will discuss the integration of electric vehicles and the grid and the emerging roles for advanced technology, markets, and regulatory policy as tools to decarbonize transportation.

Speaker: Noel Crisotomo, California Energy Commission