"Today we have around 20,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the UK. By 2020, it’s estimated that there will be one million EVs in use, which will need 100,000 charging points. There are around 35 million cars in the UK, so if we replaced every one with an electric equivalent, we could need as many as three million charging points. The slower EV chargers currently require around 3kW of power, while rapid chargers range from 7kW to 350kW.
If we replaced all cars with an electric equivalent, it’s estimated we would need an additional 18GW of power. The new £20bn Hinkley nuclear power station in Somerset will produce 3.2GW once it opens in 2025 – so we may need another six of these to meet demand"
Any opinions on this?
Seems the Government may be giving our future generation of drivers one big headache. The politicians making these decisions now will not be around in 40 years to clear up their mess
The big question of the day will not be Brexit (minor detail in comparison) but how are we going to dispose of the 60 / 100 million EV batteries sitting in recycle plants that are to expensive to recycle
I think we are in the dark about this just as much as brexit. 😁
I've been led to believe that we have enough energy producing capabilities on average but not enough to cope with the peaks. It is this statement that i find interesting with regards to the future.
I know the general view recently has been that electric vehicles can't go so far without needing a re-charge, but if you look at the new generation EV's such as the Jaguar ipace with a range of around 320 miles and can get a 150 mile re-charge in around 15 minutes things start to look a bit different.
I always wondered what would happen when everybody comes home and plugs in at tea time, but this same Jaguar could run several houses. So imagine a situation where EV's are covering the surge from say 5pm to 9pm and 7am to 9am but are receiving power at the other times it them starts the level all the peaks and troughs in power production.
I have also been told that there will be a scheme set up to utilize any used EV batteries. As mentioned about the Jaguar, i think it has an eight year warranty on the battery but should last a lot longer, the problem being it's efficiency will drop with time and use. So when it is no longer viable as a car battery it would then be put to use to store energy at local sources.
For example a friend has solar panels but during the day power has to go to the grid as he is not using it, but at night he has to draw from the grid as he has no production. If he had batteries he could store his own energy during the day to use later. I also read an article where EV's would have free parking and charging at railway stations as the cars would be helping to provide energy for the trains as they leave but would accept energy as the trains regenerate when slowing into the station. Again levelling the peaks in demand.
Where do others think we will be in say 5 years time? With the push for electric cars and the increasing cost involved entering cities due to pollution i don't think we have many options.
18% of pollution caused by vehicles (all vehicles)
WHY are we not concerned about what is causing the 82%
zero pollution vehicles, do they exist, electric has to come from somewhere, these supplies have to be generated from somewhere which has to to built (using diesel vehicles and equipment)
vehicle tax revenues have to be gotten from somewhere, how much will the road tax have to be unless they can tell the difference of when I am boiling the kettle to when i may be charging my vehicle.
How much more expensive will food and goods be because of transport cost, electric vehicles very heavy compared to diesel vehicles so will have less load capacity.
Will we be so keen to help victims in a crash vehicle if we are not sure that these high voltages have been made safe (by electronics) fire doesn't bother me but something you cant see maybe different (unless family or very close friend)
Hi Yes very much like a Brexit debate, strong opinions and very few facts that can be depended on as being genuine from both sides of the fence!
I few thoughts from my my point of view:-
Fossil fuels are not an infinite resource and will get increasingly more expensive as that deplete,due to increasing costs of accessing them,(Oil companies can and do manipulate the markets to there own end.) so with this alone in mind it is sensible to look for alternatives.
Of course Global warming and air quality are both also massive issues which need to be addressed for the sake of our children and grand children. I accept there are differing views on this but even if you personally (like'Trump'!) chose not to accept the evidence as presented can we justify taking the risk ?
I look back at emissions from vehicles when I started and think if the current volume of vehicles now, where all producing emissions of of levels 40 years ago when I started our cities would be both unbearable and dangerous to health places to be in.
Quote****WHY are we not concerned about what is causing the 82%***
Clearly not true in my opinion to state that,just a few examples that i know of, look as the massive investment in renewable energy, shift from coal powered power stations etc. We drove across Scandinavia last summer and a lot of the Ferries where using 'hybrid technology' to reduce emissions, trains are moving over the electric,the London underground has introduced regenerative braking on new rolling stock. The list goes on and am sure all industries have some controls.
My personal opinion that are gradual change of next 25+ years is the way forward as technology and infrastructure progresses.
The 'KEY' thing in my mind at this stage is educating the general public and business as to suitability of differing power options and matching them to there actual needs rather than there personal preference based on whim.
For the time being Full electric does have a place as does Hybrid and Plug in hybrid and for that matter Diesel and petrol!