Electric vehicles make up a tiny fraction of cars on the road but sales are rising.
In the medium term, grid operators predict that EVs will have a significant bearing on available network capacity. Meanwhile, major changes are afoot to the way grid capacity is allocated and charged to businesses.
All of which means businesses must consider the impact of EVs on their energy strategy now, not later, according to Kinect Energy Group.
That is especially true for businesses that want to install rapid multiple charging infrastructure, said Adam Pigott, head of engineering and sustainability at the consultancy.
“Clients are looking at rapid chargers from 50kW up to 300kW in some cases,” Pigott explained in a new podcast hosted by The Energyst. “Compared to an average SME site’s power demand, 300kW is enormous.”
Kinect is working with an automotive client that is installing multiple very rapid chargers. “Effectively, that will require an electricity supply thirty times larger than they currently have,” said Pigott.
“It’s an extreme example, but one which illustrates that most organisations are not set up in terms of physical supply to meet their future requirements.”
Pigott and Kinect’s consultancy and market analytics team lead, Nik Holland, believe businesses must therefore consider EV infrastructure now, or risk paying much more for increasingly scarce grid capacity – if it is available.
The podcast also outlines their thoughts on battery storage, electric vehicles as grid storage – and why a flexible energy strategy is becoming paramount.
Listen to the podcast here:
Visit Kinectenergy.com to find out more.
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