Most people know that electric vehicles (EVs) are at the forefront of sustainable technology in their own right. But did you know they can also have positive ripple effects on other aspects of vehicle infrastructure?
“Increased EV adoption can trigger investment in new power generators—especially wind, solar, and natural gas—as well as, energy storage (batteries),” said Jeremy Michalek, a professor of engineering and public policy, professor of mechanical engineering, and director of the Vehicle Electrification Group at Carnegie Mellon University.
College of Engineering faculty members Michalek, Corey Harper, and Destenie Nock worked with Lily Hanig (EPP Ph.D. ’24) to model the effect of plug-in EV adoption on U.S. power system generator capacity investment, operations, and emissions through 2050 in a study recently published in PNAS.
“We wanted to investigate EV adoption because as we add more demand for electricity we may affect power plant retirement and construction,” said Nock, an assistant professor of engineering and public policy and civil and environmental engineering. In each scenario, the researchers found that increased EV adoption would trigger new investment in wind, solar, storage, and natural gas capacity.
