Light-duty electric vehicles in the United States used more electricity than rail systems for the first time in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
EIA began publishing EV electricity consumption estimates at the national, regional, and state levels in 2018. It derives its estimates of EV electricity consumption using a model rather than using traditional surveys (and notes that models are “subject to model error, which we try to We understand better.”) She compared the estimates with consumption data from electric utilities that indicate end use for the transportation sector, which is almost exclusively limited to municipal and regional rail systems.
The federal agency says annual electricity consumption by rail was the largest transportation end-use category of electricity published in its report Monthly electrical energy Report since 2003. Rail electricity use has remained stable over the past two decades, averaging about 7,000 GWh, and the United States has had only a limited expansion of municipal or electrified commuter rail systems during that period (but this will change; for example, see “Read more” below).
In 2023, electric vehicle sales in the United States accounted for 16% of total light vehicle sales. Estimated annual electricity consumption by electric vehicles rose to 7,596 GWh in 2023, nearly five times the consumption in 2018. The shares of electricity consumed by battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles were about the same in 2018 .BEV model choices have increased recently as their prices have dropped. In 2023, battery electric vehicles accounted for 72% of total electric vehicle electricity consumption.
In 2023, most of the electricity consumed by EVs in any U.S. region was in the Pacific Census Division contiguous area, which represents 40% of the U.S. total. The South Atlantic Census Division ranked second in terms of consumption at 15.5% and the Mid-Atlantic Census Division ranked third at 8.8%.
California accounts for approximately 85% of electricity consumption by light electric vehicles in the Pacific Census Division. California has the highest concentration of electric vehicles of any state, meaning EVs consume more electricity there than in any other state. In 2023, 33.9% of electricity consumption from electric vehicles in the United States was in California, followed by Florida at 6.0%.
Read more: Construction of the high-speed electric rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles has just begun
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