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The Impact of Electric Vehicle Density on Local Grid Costs: Empirical Evidence from Norway

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  • Paal Brevik Wangsness
  • Askill Harkjerr Halse

Abstract

While a rapid shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) will contribute to reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector, there are concerns that uncoordinated charging of EVs might impose challenges for the local electricity grid. Our study is the first to investigate this empirically in a country-wide analysis, using data from the country with the highest market share of EVs, namely Norway. We present the regulatory framework in which Norwegian grid companies operate and discuss the possible impact of EV charging. Using panel data on 107 grid companies over the period 2008-2017, we then estimate the effect of local growth in EVs on local grid costs. We find that increases in EV stock are associated with increases in costs which are both statistically and economically significant. However, there is a lot of heterogeneity in these results, where the effect on grid costs are higher for small grid companies in rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Paal Brevik Wangsness & Askill Harkjerr Halse, 2021. "The Impact of Electric Vehicle Density on Local Grid Costs: Empirical Evidence from Norway," The Energy Journal, , vol. 42(5), pages 149-168, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:42:y:2021:i:5:p:149-168
    DOI: 10.5547/01956574.42.5.pwan
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:aen:journl:2010v31-03-a01 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Bruce C. Greenwald & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1986. "Externalities in Economies with Imperfect Information and Incomplete Markets," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(2), pages 229-264.
    3. Wangsness, Paal Brevik & Proost, Stef & Rødseth, Kenneth Løvold, 2018. "Vehicle choices and urban transport externalities. Are Norwegian policy makers getting it right?," Working Paper Series 2-2018, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business.
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    Cited by:

    1. He, Xiaoping & Jiang, Shuo & Yu, Yuxuan & Su, Siyi, 2025. "Impact of novel infrastructure investments on productivity: Evidence from public procurement of EV charging facilities in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    2. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Xu, Jiayi & Zheng, Ying & Sari, Ramazan & Chu, Yanlai, 2026. "Electric vehicle adoption and energy prices: Empirical evidence from four Nordic countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. Steinbach, Sarah A. & Blaschke, Maximilian J., 2024. "Enabling electric mobility: Can photovoltaic and home battery systems significantly reduce grid reinforcement costs?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 375(C).

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