 Accenture highlight problems with EV charging points
22-03-11
The technology consultancy Accenture have published a report on the current state of electric vehicle infrastructure and its prospects. The report, Changing the game: plug-in electric vehicle pilots analyses data from 25 electric vehicle schemes that monitored electric vehicles and driver habits. The pilot schemes were from all over the world, including the UK, Japan and the Netherlands.
The report concluded that public charging points are not attracting enough drivers to cover the costs of their installation and maintenance. A regular charging station currently costs around $5,000 whereas a fast charging station that allows drivers to charge their cars in 30 minutes costs up to $50,000. One of the reasons for low usage is that there are not yet enough electric vehicles on the road. But a less easily resolved problem is that as a result of there not being many charging points on the road, electric vehicle drivers have made a habit of charging their vehicles at home. This may prove a hard habit to break.
The report also lays out the consequences of this on the electricity grid. A large amount of drivers all charging their vehicles in the night will put a strain on the grid. Additionally the fact that not all drivers charge their vehicles every day, often able to go for two days on one charge, increases the unpredictability of electricity demand and reduces utilities' control of the grid. Charging the vehicle whenever it is parked, on the other hand, helps grid management.
Accenture judge the business case for investing in public charging infrastructure at the moment to be weak because of the high-cost and preference for home charging.
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