Correct deployment of EV charging points ‘is essential’

That was the consensus from the expert panel at Energy Live Expo 2018

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The right deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be essential to ensuring adoption of the low carbon technology is a success.

That was the consensus from the expert panel at Energy Live Expo 2018, which was made up of SSE’s Wholesale Director Martin Pibworth, ABB UK’s CEO Ian Funnell and Richard Hughes, Director of Sales and Marketing at EDF, who spoke to ELN Editor Sumit Bose about the potential impacts of EV infrastructure upon the grid.

Mr Funnell told the audience the world doesn’t need fast chargers everywhere, noting a bank of just six 350kW points would equate to an energy-intensive 2MW site.

He voiced concern energy companies couldn’t connect that much power in many places and suggested as a result, only a fifth of EV charging stations are likely to be high-power fast versions, with the remaining 80% expected to take the form of more standard units at houses, offices and other locations.

The Wholesale Director of SSE said policy frameworks such as the Capacity Market exist to predict demand four years in advance and said it would continue to prove useful in working out where important EV infrastructure needs to be built.

He added the main challenge was making sure such demand forecasts are accurate.

EDF’s Director of Sales and Marketing suggested for expensive fast chargers to be worth it, it is critical for the balance between supply and demand to be correct.

He said: “We will very soon have half-hourly settlement for residential customers and that will really start to enable the time-of-use tariffs that I think will really drive residential adoption of electric vehicles.”

But what did the Expo delegates think? Click here to find out.

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