Yesterday, 12:50 PM
(Timestamp is wrong in your typing, but correct if you click the link.)
It must be noted that investor-owned utilities have an obligation to serve, regardless of the power requirements. It's just a matter of how long it will take to build. For the case of commercial EV charging depots, the demands are HUGE. So, it will take years of planning, then permitting, then construction. A typical large industrial site could take 3-8 years to get it energized, depending on where it's located on the grid and the available Tx capacity. And that's if the materials for the substations are readily available and there is space. Now, if you have multiple sites in the planning stages simultaneously, they complicate themselves because the planners are not looking at single transmission lines, but rather system-wide impacts. This will take decades.
To Elon's point, he's right that the system is built to the peak demand. But he's selling Tesla batteries as the solution. That's even MORE expensive than just increasing the amount of generation. There are lower cost storage solutions (like pumped hydro), but there would still need to be a revolution in grid spending to accomplish this feat. You're talking about doubling or tripling the capacity of a 130-year old machine - the electric grid - in a few years??? Not gonna happen.
Patti and I are acquaintances (we connected years ago when she was at Consumers Energy - she had John Mackey's book Conscious Capitalism on her shelf and we struck up a conversation). Remember that her job now is to please the institutional investor community. Her engineers are more reasonable.
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