Hyperdrive
Sweden's Electric Car Boom Is Under Threat From Power Crunch
- Capacity issues in big cities hamper charging networks
- Local grids would struggle to handle huge increase of vehicles
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Sweden’s ambitious plan to drastically cut emissions from transport by bringing millions of electric cars onto the road could be derailed by a lack of power capacity for new charging stations in major cities.
An increase in government grants sent sales of electric cars surging by 253% in the first five months this year, but the rally could be over before it’s really started. Demand for electricity in Stockholm and other cities is outgrowing capacity in local grids, forcing new charging networks to compete with other projects from housing to subway lines to get hooked up.