Recent news about electric heavy-duty trucks has been bittersweet. More of these vehicles have been built, but the necessary electric grid upgrades and charging equipment are lagging behind, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Parking lots that would house electric commercial trucks may need to pull as much power as a skyscraper, but the grid improvements are potentially years away.
Geography and timing will also play a role in how much power these vehicles will be allowed to pull. For example, California utility company PG&E told charging provider FreeWire Technologies that one of its largest fleet companies won’t be allowed to charge vehicles for at least a few years during summer afternoons. That’s when the state’s electricity use is it at its highest. Such restrictions would not exist during cooler months, The Wall Street Journal reports.
PG&E also noted that capacity upgrades would take at least three years. FreeWire has opted to install chargers paired with batteries for that large fleet customer and others so they would not have to wait until then.
“Temporary load restrictions in some cases enable us to energize a customer to meet their current needs while we work to build new infrastructure and increase capacity,” PG&E told The Wall Street Journal.
California-based businesses also face challenges when it comes to drayage trucks. These vehicles carry containerized cargo to and from ports and rail centers. Beginning next year, new drayage trucks must run on electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Additional EV-related deadlines include ending sales of new gas-powered passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs by 2035. Plus, new medium and heavy-duty trucks sales will have to be zero-emissions by 2036.
It makes sense why California would make such a strong push for electric trucks. While these vehicles make up just six percent of the vehicles on the state’s roads, they emit approximately 25 percent of its on-road greenhouse gas emissions, according to state regulators. The state plans to spend $1.7 billion for medium- and heavy-duty infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles by 2026.
The trouble comes down to charger supply. California is estimated to have 180,000 mid- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles by 2030, per a 2021 state analysis. That would require almost 160,000 chargers, which would be mainly at depots that the fleet owners operate. Depots currently have less than 700 charges, according to the California Trucking Association.
So, it will be up to electric truck fleet owners to figure out how install these chargers at their depots. Unfortunately, the process is so complicated, it will require collaborating with a number of parties, including equipment providers, truck makers, utilities and landlords.
Meanwhile, chargers are still needed on the road for electric truck stops. California has plenty of EV fast chargers available for passenger vehicles, which could charge commercial trucks, the sites aren’t equipped to fit such vehicles, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Mobile substations, generators and batteries could serve as temporary substitutions. Meanwhile, Pacific Drayage Services company said he installed a system of chargers that’s paired with battery storage. The system can power his fleet even when the grid is stressed. The battery storage can also recharge when electricity prices are the lowest. Gillis admitted he also tripled his usual new diesel trucks order, which are projected to arrive before California’s deadline to phase them out hits.
“You almost have to have a degree in electrical engineering to really understand some of the stuff that we’re going through right now,” Gillis said.
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