Vehicle electrification puts pressure on grid

The electrification of vehicles and factories could see electricity demand double in the next three decades, a new report says.

Government-owned Transpower highlights in its white paper, Te Mauri Hiko, that demand could increase from about 40 terawatt hours (TWh) each year to 90 TWh by 2050.

That differs from a report issued in by Transpower in 2016, which predicted electricity demand would fall between 2030 and 2050.

However, New Zealand’s bid to fight climate change by signing the Paris agreement changed all that.

“This report now views electrification of transport and industrial heat processes as the most likely way for New Zealand to meet its Paris Agreement commitments – the conversion of a large part of private and transport fleets, as well as some industrial heat processes, is likely to see a doubling of demand for electricity, when projected population and [economic] growth are also taken into account.”

Electric vehicles are likely to make up 40% of the vehicle fleet by 2030 and 85% by 2050, the report predicts.