Electric cars are definitely more than just a passing trend, with Ford announcing that all of its cars on sale in Europe will be electric by 2030. The US motor company has said it will invest £720m in converting a vehicle assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, into its first all-electric vehicle plant.
The company is anticipating a world-wide ban on fossil-fuel vehicles, which will eventually be necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change. Jaguar Land Rover have also recently announced that its high-end cars will be electric-only by 2025, and it will stop producing petrol vehicles completely by the mid 2030’s.
This seismic change in the industry poses the question of how the extra power demand will be met in the UK. Autocar has published a report on this issue, which is reasonably confident that sufficient charging capacity will be ready to keep pace with demand.
The National Grid, who will ultimately be responsible for stepping up to the challenge of power supply to electric vehicles (EVs), points out that energy consumption is lower than in previous years, largely due to greater efficiency. For example, in 2002, the peak was 62GW, compared to a predicted peak of 44.7GW this winter.
Furthermore, home charging equipment will be fitted with smart sensors which will allow local electricity distribution networks a degree of control. They will be able to regulate capacity during peak times of 6pm to 8pm, for example.
One of the biggest concerns for consumers around EV’s is that the battery capacity doesn’t allow for long journeys without stopping to recharge. To boost public confidence, the National Grid plans to install a network of 50 super-fast chargers at motorway service stations across the country. It is hoped that charging can be completed in five to 12 minutes.
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