PNNL

By the year 2028, an influx of electric vehicles could have a major impact on the power grid. Michael Kintner-Meyer has been at the forefront of understanding what that impact may mean in practical terms. His team has run scenarios that included the evolution of the grid and its capacity at state and regional levels. Their published study focused on scenarios with the greatest potential for grid impacts and found that bottlenecks, due to new charging impacts, appeared the most in areas of California, including Los Angeles, which plans to go all-electric with its city fleet by 2030. In a follow-on study, the team is taking a closer look at ways to integrate electric vehicles into local and regional power distribution systems across the nation.

“We have the data and the method to run what-if scenarios,” said Kintner-Meyer. “With data from utilities about feeders and infrastructure, we can build out the models then hand it off so that cities can get ahead of the curve.”

Kintner-Meyer has also been at the forefront of modernizing the nation’s power grid, leading key projects for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium Kintner-Meyer and his team developed a comprehensive compendium of grid metrics that include reliability, resiliency, flexibility, sustainability, affordability, and physical security.    

This project has led to several major national assessments for energy storage, technology impacts on the grid, electrical vehicle grid impacts, and valuation of electric vehicles for renewables integration.

Currently, Kintner-Meyer leads PNNL research activities in mobility research, focusing on transitioning the transportation sector to meet the nation’s 21^st-century mobility needs under sustainability objectives.  This includes decarbonization strategies, large-scale traffic simulations of urban centers, connected vehicle controls research, as well as electric vehicle charging controls technology development.

Dr. Kintner-Meyer holds nine patents on electric vehicle charge management, grid-friendly appliances, and energy storage control technologies.

More Information

PNNL Staff Biography

Listen to Michael Kintner-Meyer on National Public Radio’s Science Friday.