The government has confirmed its ambition that those using the UK’s strategic road network (SRN) will never be more than 20 miles from a charging unit for their electric vehicle (EV).
The news follows the government’s announcement of £15 billion of funding for improving the UK’s road infrastructure. The department of transport’s Road Investment Strategy states: “We will support the increasing uptake of ULEVs, investing in rapid chargers to help ensure people will rarely be more than 20 miles from a charger on the SRN.”
The commitment builds on the government’s pledge last year that all new cars in the UK will be ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs). The department of transport has also committed to converting the majority of its Traffic Officer Service fleet to ULEVs, following in the footsteps of the government’s promise to introduce EVs to all government fleets.
.
The number of ULEVs on British roads has notably risen thanks to the UK Plug-in Car Grant that has issued over 5,000 grants for the purchase of plug-in vehicles in the UK in the last six months. There are now over 17,000 grant-funded ULEVs driving around the UK.
Although the plug-in scheme was launched in 2010, July to September 2014 accounted for almost a third of all the approved plug-in grants for electric and other plug-in vehicles. The Plug-in Car Grant reduces the price of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) by up to £5,000 for cars and £8,000 for vans, making driving costs as low as two pence per mile.
This surge in plug-in car sales furthers the UK’s position in the globally competitive electric car market, but as Next Energy News reported in August, the UK is still significantly behind major electric vehicle leaders like North America and Japan.
The government’s £15 billion road investment strategy includes a ringfenced fund of £300 million to help mitigate the environmental impact of road transport, including £75 million for noise.
In related news, Newcastle-based Urban Foresight released the EV City Casebook 50 Big Ideas report which outlines how EVs can bridge the gap between niche market to mainstream. The report looks at a number of novel ideas from the wider market including ‘EV vending machines’ which are being used in Hangzhou, China. The machines are automated multi-storey garages that enable customers to hire a fully-charged EV for $3 an hour.
One of the report’s case study is Orkney Isles in Scotland which generates 103% of its required energy through renewable sources. In order to avoid constraining technologies during peak generation, residents are using EVs to absorb the excess electricity to ensure it isn’t wasted. The report concludes that the outlined ‘Big Ideas’ will play a pivotal role in helping mainstream consumers adapt to EVs.
.