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The EV Transition Explained: Can the Grid Cope?

Cars That Think

There have been vigorous debates pro and con in the United States and elsewhere over whether electric grids can support EVs at scale. Xcel Energy in Minnesota, for example, has already started to upgrade distribution transformers because of potential residential EV electrical-load issues. The answer is a nuanced “perhaps.”

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DOE awards $27.5M to 16 water infrastructure projects

Green Car Congress

Each team will work to bring new water and wastewater-treatment technologies from the applied research and development stage to commercial readiness. They are based out of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Virginia.

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Xcel Energy launches EV smart charging pilot in Colorado; Transportation Electrification Plan for New Mexico approved

Green Car Congress

Xcel Energy has launched a new pilot for customers of five major automakers to make it easier for consumers to make the switch to electric vehicles in Colorado and to charge their EVs at times when renewable energy production is high and demand on the energy grid is low. —Alice Jackson, president, Xcel Energy-Colorado.

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DOE announces $139M in funding for 55 projects to advance innovative vehicle technologies

Green Car Congress

e-Mosaic: Electrification Mosaic Platform for Grid- Informed Smart Charging Management. Utility Managed Smart Charging for Consumer and Grid Benefits. Regents of University of Minnesota. Co-optimization of Vehicle Specification and Routing to Improve Commercial Transportation System Efficiency and Reduce Deadheading.

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Xcel Terms First Phase of Sodium-Sulfur Battery Wind Energy Storage Test Project Successful

Green Car Congress

Xcel Energy has released the preliminary results from its wind-to-battery (W2B) storage project in Minnesota, and termed the technology successful. In October 2008, Xcel began testing a one-megawatt sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery ( earlier post ) to demonstrate its ability to store wind energy and move it to the electricity grid when needed.

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DOE Announces More than $5M to Support Wind Energy Development

Green Car Congress

million over two years will improve short-term wind forecasting, which will accelerate the use of wind power in electricity transmission networks by allowing utilities and grid operators to more accurately forecast when and where electricity will be generated from wind power. Two projects receiving a total of $3.4

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DOE announces more than $65M in public and private funding to commercialize promising energy technologies

Green Car Congress

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $30 million in federal funding, matched by more than $35 million in private sector funds, for 68 projects that will accelerate the commercialization of promising energy technologies—ranging from clean energy and advanced manufacturing, to building efficiency and next-generation materials.