Government experts are predicting that some 16% to 20% of all car sales will be electric by 2025. According to Kevin Knapp, Chief Executive of Ecolution Renewables – one of the country’s fastest growing suppliers and installers of green energy systems – this is going to present a major challenge for industry and householders.
As the UK switches from petrol and diesel vehicles, the demand for electric vehicle (EV) charging points will increase dramatically alongside changes in the way we generate and store electricity. The bottom line, says Mr Knapp, is that the country still needs to get an integrated strategy into place to deliver such a programme.
While Government has indicated that it wants a national network of charging points, no one is really sure how the electric car market is going to grow. The Government wants electric vehicles to account for 100% of all new car and van sales by 2040, but how we get there is still anyone’s guess and there is still little evidence of major progress.
As a result, Ecolution has launched its own campaign to meet demand with plans to combine solar panels with advanced battery storage units to ensure that homes, offices and other commercial units have total flexibility to generate, share and store power in the future.
The campaign – which the company calls #JointheEcolution – may also see at some future time the possibility of surplus energy stored in cars that can be transferred back into a building. With Ecolution – the emphasis is on power that can be portable and transferable.
The take up of electric vehicles in the UK will ultimately depend on pricing and whether the current tax advantages enjoyed by electric vehicles remain in place. The IMF predicts that there will be roughly 30% electric vehicle use by 2027 in the UK – but it is only a guess.
Electric cars receive a sales subsidy of about £5,000 in the UK and Japan, and £6,500 in the US, but they are expected to be significantly reduced in the future, probably in the early 2020’s as such vehicles become more popular.
Electric cars produce less climate-warming carbon emissions and air pollution, particularly when compared to diesel cars. In the UK, toxic air is at illegal levels in many urban areas so any such positive changes in vehicle ownership would be welcomed, claim Ecolution.
However, while the future for electric vehicles seems assured, Kevin Knapp warns that governments will almost certainly start taxing such cars and vans to recoup any changes in falling fuel duty – something he says should be resisted to help the environment.
For now, Government has announced £200m in funding to create a charging infrastructure – this is to be matched by industry. The UK already has more than 11,500 publicly accessible charge points, including more than 900 rapid charge points. Although this is one of the largest rapid networks in Europe it will have to be matched by householders and business if electric vehicles are to make real sense.
As one of the fastest growing installers of EV charging points, Ecolution is convinced that the infrastructure to support the growth in electric vehicles must be put in place over the next five years. Major action is required immediately and the good news is that companies such as Ecolution are seeing a massive upturn in such business.
This is in turn will help the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions targets and significantly reduce the amount of toxins in the air caused by diesel and petrol engines, which are estimated to shorten the lives of 40,000 people a year.
But it must not just stop at EV charging points, adds Kevin Knapp. The UK needs to look at all of its energy needs and that means combining solar photovoltaic panels with smart energy storage units.
This means turning every building into a virtual power station – and that really is the future – #Join the Ecolution.
For details on Ecolution’s range of products and services, visit: www.ecolutiongroup.com
