NZ green grids ready for more electric cars

There is an urgent need to see more electric vehicles (EV) on New Zealand roads as it would lead to emissions reductions around the country – provided the electricity came from renewable energy sources – according to the Ddrector of University of Canterbury (UC) Electric Power Engineering Centre (EPECentre), Allan Miller.

“Currently New Zealand has so few electric vehicles that we are not seeing any benefit,” Miller says.

“Light passenger vehicles are a large contributor to New Zealand’s carbon emissions because our vehicle fleet is almost entirely based on inefficient fossil fuel powered internal combustion engine vehicles. Converting to EV’s would make a tangible difference to our emissions, but would require the additional electricity consumption to be met with new renewable energy,” he adds.

However, Miller says there are other environmental aspects to consider, and the impact on the grid of many EV’s switching on at once to charge requires careful management.

In Miller’s view there is a need for an uptake skills and training in New Zealand to cope with issues linked to the rise of new technologies in the electricity sector, including EV’s.

As well as his role at EPEC, Miller is also director of the GREEN Grid research program, looking at integrating renewable energy and other new technology into the national grid.