ECA warns lack of EV strategy could leave UK divided
Leading electrotechnical and engineering services body ECA has welcomed the Government's announcement on 22 November 2021 that all new homes in England will be installed with electric vehicle charge points (EVCPs). Speaking at the 2021 Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference, Boris Johnson announced that all new homes and non-residential buildings will be required to have EVCPs installed, adding 145,000 new charging points a year between 2021 and 2030 to the network of 250,000 already installed in homes and workplaces so far.
ECA Director of CSR Paul Reeve said, “This is a welcome announcement, but the bigger challenge across the UK is public access charging. With most EVCP plans centred around London and the south east, there is still a real danger of charging blackspots in many parts of the country. ‘Levelling-up’ should also mean closing the urban-rural gap when it comes to EV charging infrastructure and installation skills.”
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request conducted by ECA in September 2021 found that two thirds of local authorities in the UK have no plans for installing public EVCPs. Over half said EVCPs were prohibitively expensive to install and over a third said constraints such as a lack of energy network capacity were also preventing EVCP deployment.
One borough council spokesperson said, “One of the barriers is the uncoordinated approach on EV charging points – policy is not joined up enough and this makes them more difficult for the public to use.”
This article originally appeared on the ECA website. It was published on 22 November 2021.
--ECA
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
Specifying rendered external wall insulation for fire safety
How to interrogate the evidence provided to the specifier.
The benefits of writing articles for your organisation
How to create a profile for your organisation and publish for free.
No Falls Week. The importance of safe working at height
What to expect and what is on offer to avoid accidents.
Scottish Government action to reach net-zero targets
Retrofit expert group highlight critical actions needed.
A forward thinking, inclusive global community of members.
From engineered product life-spans, to their extension.
Circular economy in the built environment
A brief description from 2021. Where are we now?
Mental Health Awareness Week with ABS
Architects Benevolent Society programme of activity.
CLC publishes domestic retrofit competency framework
Roadmap of Skills for net zero.
May 13-19: Moving more for our mental health.
Understanding is key to conservation.
Open industry engagement survey seeks responses
Institutions and the importance of engagement.
National Retrofit Hub unveils new guide
Digital Building Logbooks and Retrofit: An Introduction.
Enhancing construction site reporting efficiency
Through digitisation and the digital revolution.