NEARLY HALF OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE OWNERS LIKELY TO SWITCH BACK TO GAS: Forty-six percent of U.S. electric vehicle owners are leaning toward switching back to traditional gas cars, according to a new McKinsey and Co. survey, with most of the participants citing difficulties with charging.
The details: According to the consulting firm’s latest Mobility Consumer Pulse report, U.S. EV owners are the second most likely to have signaled they intend to switch back to internal combustion engined vehicles, right behind Australia.
The reasons: Respondents spanning the globe presented a wide range of reasons for switching back – but with many related back to charging. Thirty-five percent cite that public charging infrastructure was not up to par, while 24% stated they could not charge at home. Twenty-one percent noted that worrying about charging was “too stressful.” For reasons unrelated to charging, 34% reasoned total costs of ownership were too high, 32% cited long distance traveling was impaired by the vehicles, 16% stated they would have to change mobility requirements, and 13% stated they did not like the driving experience.
Why this is important: While the report notes that global purchase intent for EVs is continuing to rise – albeit, slowly – nearly half of U.S. drivers admitting they are likely to change back to traditional gas cars underlines the difficulties the difficult that the U.S. and other governments will face in getting consumers to transition to an EV permanently.
The report also underscores that building out charging infrastructure isn’t only a U.S. problem – it’s a problem for any countries looking to electrify their fleet and lower their emissions simultaneously.
Still, the want is there: Among current non-EV owners, the share considering a battery EV or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has grown between three and four percentage points from December 2021 to February 2024. The number of those who want a new or used ICE has stagnated or declined within the same time period.
A notable stat: Twenty-seven percent of European consumers are likely to consider a Chinese EV brand – which could prove tricky for the EU, considering it decided to impose additional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China.
Read the rest of the study here.
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EU SEEKS TO CUT OFF RUSSIA FROM ASIAN LNG BUYERS WITH NEW SANCTIONS: EU leaders approved punishing new sanctions on Russia’s gas sector for the first time today, in a move that could starve Vladimir Putin hundreds of millions annually in fossil fuel revenue.
The measures, included in the bloc’s 14th sanctions package, ban EU countries from importing and re-exporting Russian LNG at their ports, a process known as transshipments— forcing Russia to reroute the bulk of its LNG shipped to buyers in Asia via the Arctic Sea.
Russia currently routes many of its shipments to Asian buyers through ports in the EU countries of Spain, Belgium, and France, according to data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.. Without the ability to ferry supplies through Europe, Russia will be forced to ship its gas via the Arctic Sea, a lengthy trip that requires the use of ice-class tanker ships.
The sanctions also crack down on the so-called “shadow fleet” of illegal tankers that continue to export Russian crude oil above the $60 capped price set by G-7 nations.
The new package, which EU leaders will formally vote to approve on Monday, comes as the bloc has scrambled to replace Russian gas since the start of its war in Ukraine. However, Russian LNG still made up 5% of the bloc’s gas consumption in 2023, according to CREA.
The group estimates that the EU paid Russia $8.9 billion in 2023 for LNG. Read more from Breanne here.
RUSSIA INVOLVED IN A THIRD OF GLOBAL NEW NUCLEAR PLANT DEVELOPMENT: Western sanctions have not prevented Russia from exercising sway around the world through its involvement in nuclear power plant construction, the Financial Times reports.
Russia is involved in a third of the new reactors being constructed across the world, including in China, India, Iran and Egypt.
Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy business, has had success building plants all over the world, providing everything needed during the course of operations, including staff. That leads to client nations being tied to Russia diplomatically for years. It is working, or has deals in the works, in Africa, Bangladesh, and even in Europe, specifically in Hungary – which has said it will not agree to any sanctions on Russian nuclear energy. Read more here.
TEXAS POWER DEMAND TO DOUBLE IN SIX YEARS? The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has said that the state’s power demand could double in the next six years, the Texas Tribune reports.
A large part of the increase is that oil and gas drillers in the Permian Basin are increasingly powering their operations using electricity rather than gas or diesel.
Another factor is just the general growth of the state’s population.
But one additional significant factor is the increased power demand from data centers and bitcoin mining. ERCOT said some of those are now requesting significantly more power than the city of Lubbock.
More scrutiny for AI and crypto power use: The news is another indication that the vast demand for power created by artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies is going to cause further tension as it adds to the strain on the grid.
We noted previously that testimony from ERCOT regarding power demand elicited criticism of crypto from Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick. The Texas Tribune quoted another Republican, state Sen. Charles Schwertner, saying that “there is eventually a prioritization that could be discussed, and obviously Texans — their families, their homes, their businesses — are the most important individuals, the most important clients for electricity.”
Transmission also in question: In addition to drawing attention to the sources of demand for power and the need for greater supply, the report highlighted the necessity of building new transmission to connect generation to the grid. “I think the most important thing right now that we’re trying to address is the lack of transmission,” Michael Lozano, a communications and government affairs officer for the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, told the publication.
FOSSIL FUEL USE HIT RECORD HIGH IN 2023: Total global energy consumption rose 2% and fossil fuel consumption rose 1.5% in 2023, the Energy Institute reported today in its Statistical Review of World Energy, written with KPMG and Kearney.
Fossil fuels accounted for 81.5% of the total energy mix, down from 82% the year before. Emissions from energy rose 2%, to 40 gigatonnes of CO2.
The report did show renewable energy growing fast, with generation up 13%. But overall demand grew faster, meaning more fossil fuel use and more emissions.
“In a year where we have seen the contribution of renewables reaching a new record high, ever increasing global energy demand means the share coming from fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged at just over 80% for yet another year,” said Simon Virley, the head of energy and natural resources for KPMG.
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