If the workplace has chargers then a large number of cars can also be charged in the 9-5 time span when there is usually plenty of sun. Cars are idle most of the time, so we just have to make sure that they are plugged into the grid whenever they are not being driven, and then have intelligent charging systems that use EVs as sinks when there is a surplus.
It's a nice idea, but for it to work, it's going to need to be cheaper for the end user to charge their car at work than at home overnight (this is unlikely to be true in the near future, although could be made true with the right incentives), and workplaces are going to have to have some incentive to install them.
Something like, the employer provides free low speed electric car charging to the public because this is good PR and shows that they're green and encourages customers or clients to hang out on their premises.
But then since it's available to any "members of the public" yet using it involves parking your car at that company's building for eight hours, there is high uptake of the service by employees, and the company is sure to mention their green initiative when recruiting new workers.
That’s expensive, especially on top of a new EV purchase and charger install. How do you avoid a tragedy of the commons without mandating batteries on every new charger installation?
An EV driving 15k miles per year only averages ~500w of electricity 24/7. The infrastructure is therefore relatively cheap.
So at scale a 1GWh battery pack can charge ~100,000 cars at any time of the day. But, assuming PV adoption continues electricity prices will be lower in the day so most people will end up charging at the office.
They average 500W but that's a lot of 0W mixed in with a little bit of 10,000W. If everyone decides they want their 10,000W at the same time it's not going to work out.
> a 1 GWh battery pack
Some day soon. For now though that's about the total installed capacity for the entire USA [0].
That's one of the things I'm concerned about - most people want to charge their EVs at night and drive them when there's solar power.