Will electric cars drive change in the energy sector?

A new discussion paper on electric vehicles released today looks at issues relating to how energy is used by Australian households now and into the future.

The paper: Electric vehicles: disrupting the energy mix released by Advisian looks at the issues of infrastructure scale to cater for electric vehicles, affordability of vehicles and recharging them and how fuel production and refineries will respond to a loss of market share.

Advisian senior associate Phil O’Neil co-author of the paper, said the current state of recharging electric vehicles in Australia was poor, and early adopters would need to carry charger cords in order to recharge their vehicles.

“We also expect that electric vehicle charging stations will become common at workplaces and shopping centres, as employers and retialers take the opportunity to provide a perk for employees or attract shoppers,” Mr O’Neil said.

Another issue the paper looks at is how the fuel production industry will be affected by the uptake of electric vehicles, as the balance of demand could see a reduction in fuel prices which might inhibit uptake.

“But it’s not a sure thing. Refineries might instead use key components like naphtha and gas as oil petrochemical feedstocks instead of for petrol production,” he said.

Advisian is an independent consultancy firm specialising in energy and infrastructure. To read the report in full, click here.

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