Lower energy costs just one potential benefit offered by EVs, according to experts at NJ Spotlight roundtable
(On left:) Kevin George Miller, Chargepoint, and Jim Appleton, NJ Coalition of Automotive Retailers
Tom Johnson reports
for NJ Spotlight:
for NJ Spotlight:
If the state taps an untapped opportunity in the electric vehicle market, New Jersey could reap significant economic and environmental benefits, including lower energy costs for everyone, according to a new analysis.
“The state has an awful lot to gain if we get this right,’’ said Pam Frank, CEO of ChargEVC, a coalition of car dealers, electric utilities, and manufacturers of charging stations. “The question is: ‘How the heck do we do this?’’’
The benefits, hurdles, and steps facing the state were debated Friday as experts from the energy sector discussed the ramifications of transforming the transportation sector by electrifying it at a NJ Spotlight roundtable in Hamilton. The issue, a top priority of the incoming administration of Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, should lead to cleaner air, lower energy costs, and a vastly changed energy market, panelists said.
EV analysis
According to an analysis, the emerging EV market in New Jersey could result in more than $2 billion in net economic benefits 2035, even when including the cost of installing the infrastructure and enhancing the electric power grid, according to Mark Warner, a vice president of Gabel Associates, which conducted the study.
“It changes the electric market in a really profound way,’’ Warner said of widespread adoption of plug-in vehicles. EVs are going to flatten out the energy load of the entire grid, largely because most people will charge their cars at night, when the demand drops dramatically. “When you change the load curve, you change the cost of energy,’’ he said.
“Everybody’s cost of power is going to come down because of the change of that load curve,’’ Warner said. “And it adds up to a lot.’’ The analysis is expected to be released to the public early in January.
During the discussion, there was little disagreement about the consensus argument made by many clean-energy advocates that plug-in vehicles are critical to the state’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Transportation accounts for about 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
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