Michigan's Healthy Climate Plan has set a target of two million electric vehicles on state roads by 2030. Those EVs will need to charge their batteries at the right time to protect the electric grid. The early data are encouraging.
Consumers Energy says only 12% of EV owners in its territory are charging at peak demand times, from 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays. The rest charge off peak, with more than half charging after 11 p.m., DTE Energy says 85% of home and public charging combined happens outside of peak hours.
Now, if the state does reach two million EVs by 2030, it will require about 600 MW of electricity. But that's only about a quarter of the combined capacity of the utilities' largest gas power plants.
