The indispensable role of mobility analytics in grid impact planning

Conducting a grid impact assessment is a critical step in the site selection process for new infrastructure projects, such as commercial EV charging station installations. This assessment helps electric utilities forecast potential peak load impacts on the distribution grid and plan accordingly.

By leveraging insights from the movement and domicile patterns of existing commercial electric vehicles, utilities can better assess site locations, charging capacity requirements and anticipated charging behaviors based on the types of vehicles frequenting those locations. This allows for more accurate estimates of site energy demands and predictions of peak load periods by time of day and month.

These insights help tailor projects to meet the specific energy requirements of each site while also guiding the selection of optimal locations based on real vehicle movement data. Utilizing mobility analytics in infrastructure planning drives long-term ROI and use of infrastructure.

Mobility analytics are data points that detail common commercial vehicle characteristics and movements within a defined area. They can provide a vast range of insights, from total vehicle numbers and route tendencies to vehicle types and harsh driving events. Mobility analytics vary from region to region and help organizations offer better transportation solutions in a variety of ways, including through new construction projects, infrastructure maintenance or policy enactment. With these localized, actionable transportation insights, utility and infrastructure companies can maximize investment potential and direct their plans in smarter ways.

Mobility analytics empower utilities to accurately anticipate potential grid impacts from EVs, enabling better assessment of energy and power needs. This process forecasts future charging demand, including where and when that demand will occur, informing optimal infrastructure investments to help match energy and power demands with supply. Using transportation insights, organizations can identify what types of vehicles are most commonly traveling throughout a region, where they’re frequently stopping and for how long. Knowing which types of vehicles (cars, trucks, buses) are domiciled in certain locations, and which are simply passing through, helps planners get a clearer picture of what energy consumption totals will look like if new EV charging stations are constructed. Ultimately, mobility analytics provide utilities with the granular data needed to proactively plan for EV integration and maintain grid stability.

One way to efficiently manage power grid needs and prevent overload is through duty cycle management. By strategically managing duty cycles and temporarily shutting off power to certain equipment at specific times, systems are given necessary rest periods that help reduce the potential for overheating damage to occur. For EV charging stations, scheduling cool-down cycles at non-busy times of day helps to keep them in optimal shape and enable more logistics companies to go electric, all while not jeopardizing the current limits of the grid.

To effectively study charge demand and plan new transportation infrastructure, Altitude by Geotab is the answer. Our platform offers mobility analytics that can help you unearth essential context for grid impact planning, such as vehicle classes and vocations. Knowing what types of vehicles most frequently travel throughout your region, when they’re stopping and what the total annual volume is helps you understand how many charging stations your project might require and the times where power supply to them will be needed most. These modules of our mobility analytics platform (outlined below) are key for strategic grid impact planning.

Stop Analytics: Pinpoint stop locations in a region with the highest usage by commercial drivers. Identify how long drivers who are simply passing through stop for and use your findings to determine whether or not new EV charging stations are realistic to build (based on anticipated demand). Use domicile heatmaps to identify stop locations with high concentrations of commercial vehicles, which can indicate where charging demand might be highest if they were to go electric.

Regional Domicile Analytics (RDA): Enhance planning capabilities by filtering the distribution of vehicles based on duty cycles and dwell behaviors that are most conducive to electrification. Inform your EV infrastructure plans using detailed insights from domicile stop durations, distances traveled and vehicle counts. Accurately forecast changes based on shifting truck ranges and dwell time patterns.

Develop a duty cycle management plan that factors in both  commercial vehicle domicile times and locations. Discover which classes of vehicles frequently domicile in your region and the times at which they’re typically not in use to better serve your customers and maximize EV charging station longevity.

Origin & Destination (O&D): Analyze the patterns of where most commercial vehicles are coming from and heading to as well as when roads are at their busiest. Know which thoroughfares regularly see the highest numbers of vehicles and study demand needs based on traffic totals and patterns. For example, if vehicles are traveling from two regions away, O&D will provide indication that a certain percentage will likely need charging options along the primary corridor, compared to vehicles on shorter routes taking the same corridor that might not require mid-route charging.

By using mobility analytics to direct your grid impact planning strategy, you can drive value beyond simply having greater intelligence to back your project. The benefits of a data-driven approach for grid planning extend to:

• Stronger stakeholder confidence – Build trust and raise partner buy-in before investing in a new infrastructure project. Doing necessary research first using mobility analytics helps to define the needs and potential barriers to your infrastructure project’s success.
• Smarter infrastructure investments – Construct new infrastructure in areas that are indicated by insights to work. Place charging stations in high potential areas to minimize financial risk and power more commercial EVs on the road.
• Reduced potential for overloads – Avoid overburdening regional electrical grids by smartly optimizing charging infrastructure to match duty cycles. Prevent blackouts and other interruptions from occurring with a proactive, insights-backed approach to charge management.
• More sustainable and resilient regions – Enhance sustainability and supply chain movement in your region, state or province with widely accessible EV chargers for commercial use. Helping build up regional transportation infrastructure to support increasing numbers of EVs on the road can improve air quality and reduce vehicles’ reliance on traditional fuel stations.

Altitude by Geotab worked with CIMA+ to help a Canadian province accurately choose optimal commercial EV charging station locations. They studied future electricity needs by using the International Council on Clean Transportation’s established methodology. Additionally, CIMA+ measured medium- and heavy-duty trucks’ daily driving distances throughout Canada to inform their study:

From the analysis, CIMA+ was able to help the province better understand how trucks moved and where new zero-emissions technologies would be required to meet the operational needs of Canadian commercial fleets. The province can also use new transportation data as it becomes available to calculate updated energy requirements and fine-tune its strategies.

Don’t let a lack of insights obstruct the progress of your grid impact planning project. Know the right place to start with Altitude by Geotab’s mobility analytics. Using our contextual transportation data, bolster your utility company’s understanding of regional movements and develop smarter ways to harness the current capabilities of your power grid.