• • • ELECTRIC VEHICLES • • • Accelerating the EV fleet
Stuart Little, business development manager at Powerstar, ask with uncertain energy infrastructure, how do you implement an EV strategy?
T
he UK government has a legally binding timeframe to achieve Net Zero, and EVs make up a significant chunk of the target, but there is growing uncertainty around how achievable this shift is.
In March, Powering Up Britain presented an optimistic view of UK EV uptake:
“In 2022, the UK had the second highest battery electric car sales in Europe, bringing the total number of plug-in vehicles on UK roads to over one million licensed, of which around 60% are battery electric.
“Charging infrastructure is also speeding ahead: public charging devices have more than tripled from 10,300 devices in January 2019 to over 38,700 in March 2023.” But a cautionary note comes from Mike Hawes, chief executive at SMMT: “Britain’s drivers are benefitting from the massive investment made by manufacturers over many years to deliver an electric car choice for every need. We now require a framework that ensures everyone can benefit from zero emission mobility.”
Charging costs in an energy crisis and worries over charging infrastructure capacities are obvious concerns. For commercial customers, for businesses with fleets, these issues are compounded.
Government information points companies to the Energy Saving Trust’s Guide to Chargepoint Infrastructure for Business Users, which highlights the need to undertake a site survey, to determine site supply and any spare capacity, before purchasing any vehicles or charging infrastructure. Energy Saving Trust observes that electrical capacity limitations could “quickly become an issue, regardless of the type of chargepoint used.” It also noted that, even with slower charging, this will not necessarily overcome grid constraints. For example, the same capacity would be required to run a 15-vehicle fleet, across the following configurations:
• One 50kW rapid charger, with EVs scheduled to charge one-by-one;
• Two 22kW fast and two 3.5kW slow chargers, all being used at the same time; and
• Fifteen 3.5kW slow chargers, all being used at the same time.
Feasibility, then, may be dependent on Distribution Network Operator (DNO) approval if additional capacity takes a site over its agreed capacity, requiring an additional grid connection. This could be denied if it impacts on the general supply.
Even if approved by the DNO, demand for new connections has created a backlog of months or sometimes years, severely hampering companies’ EV strategies.
Depending on the fleet size, costs for new connections can be prohibitive - anywhere between £100,000/MW and £1.7million/MW. The Energy Savings Trust points to energy storage as a means to address constraints, including “the ability to avoid upgrades to the local electricity supply, which may be preferable due to cost or uncertainty over tenure of a site.” And they outline further benefits of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), where energy can be stored off- grid and the BESS used to buffer the load. Similarly, they point to battery storage as a means to reduce costs by avoiding peak-tariff periods – charging the BESS when grid prices are lowest for use at peak times – with the additional potential to act as an income source where network incentives or feed in tariffs operate. The capability of a BESS to store renewable energy generated on-site, from solar PV or wind turbines, reduces drawdown from the grid, leading to cost savings as well as reducing carbon emissions.
Recent Government advice regarding commercial EV chargepoints and the electricity network similarly points to on-site energy assets, such as solar PV and battery storage, “…on their own or combined with time of use tariffs and/or smart charging, you can optimise your site’s electricity consumption and prioritise charging your EVs with renewable electricity generated onsite… Specialist smart solution providers can advise you how to implement this.” At Powerstar, we work with customers across the UK – from manufacturers to the NHS, from supermarket distribution and logistics to hotels and leisure. We design and manufacture energy management technologies helping to make the switch to EV feasible, while ensuring energy security and making the most of renewables alongside maximum savings on grid supply.
The cheapest and greenest unit of energy is the one you don’t use: where electric fleet charging can be managed using renewable power generated on-site, this is the cheapest and greenest option. And BESS offers the means to achieve this transition on the journey to Net Zero.
electricalengineeringmagazine.co.uk
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • JUNE 2023 15
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