Electric Nation smart charging project: V2G looking for beta testers
The numbers of electric vehicles are set to increase. Charging these rising numbers of EVs will have an impact on local electricity networks. Smart charging, as trialled by the original Electric Nation project, will help to move demand away from peak times. However vehicle to grid charging offers a lot more than just smart charging: it offers the ability for potentially millions of EVs to smart charge using renewable energy and act as battery storage facilities, and then put energy back into the grid if needed. This means that rather than EVs being seen as a problem in relation to grid capacity, they can be an important solution to help balance the grid.
If EV owners have solar panels at home then their cars could be charged from the sun, and spare renewable energy could be put back into the grid at peak times, which would mean that the grid uses less fossil fuel generation.
For these reasons, V2G is a great concept, but it hasn’t yet been trialled sufficiently on Britain’s electricity networks to enable it to be rolled out on a country-wide basis – hence the need for this trial.
The Electric Nation Smart Charging project v the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project
The original Electric Nation smart charging project was scoped in 2015/16. Since then the number of plug-in vehicles on UK roads has increased nearly five-fold and will shortly pass 250,000 – and this is at a time when we are also about to see a significant rise in a wide range of low carbon technologies deployed, as the UK moves towards Net Zero.
The aims of the project
- To explore and report on the impact of V2G charging on the low voltage (LV) electricity network, utilising end-user trial charging data and analysis.
- To demonstrate, via modelling, to what extent V2G can assist with management of LV network demand.
- To examine how sophisticated dynamic bi-directional energy services based on vehicle battery storage, from a variety of energy suppliers, may impact the LV infrastructure.
- Provide recommendations of policy and commercial frameworks on V2G services.
Why the project is innovative
This project will study the real-world effects of V2G charging and look to provide a smart solution to provide management. V2G is due to become a common feature on many more vehicles with the announcement that CCS charging protocol is aiming to offer this in 2025 (CHAdeMO charging protocol does this now) along with the UK’s leading work in this field accelerating the business case for many energy suppliers.
A considerable amount of research is being carried out in the area of V2G, however this is generally supplier or charger company-led and does not focus on the likely real-world situation for a DNO should many EV users utilise this technology. In contrast, the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project includes multiple trading stack providers to reflect that when V2G is ‘business as usual’, multiple energy supply strategies will be in play in any given part of the LV network.
The project will operate up to five different energy supplier strategies simultaneously using V2G to imitate a future world in which many streets have a number of EVs charging in this way, operated by different energy suppliers. CrowdCharge would also look to add in smart charging data to the modelling to explore the effect of a mix of V1G and V2G. Further demand management will be trialled across the whole system to explore how much intervention is required to keep within the limitations of the low voltage network.
Scale of the project
The project will engage and recruit between 90-110 participants to install V2G charging and control equipment in domestic properties across WPD’s four licence areas. The chargers will be split into various groups of similar size and assigned to the project’s energy suppliers (up to five). Each supplier will then use their group of chargers to test their various energy services utilising CrowdCharge’s demand management charger platform which provides optimised charging sessions. The effect of these services on the LV network will be modelled and reported on, including using this real-world V2G data in a network assessment tool.
The scale size of 90-110 chargers is large enough to provide a real-world data set of the effect on the LV network and subsequently a more holistic view of the impact of V2G on the LV network in varying locations across WPD’s licence areas. A smaller sample size is unlikely to include a sufficient range of charging/driving habits of the public, thus decreasing the learning potential. As V2G is only suitable for 2-3 vehicle models, the sample size can be smaller than the Electric Nation smart charging trial from a technical standpoint.
Geographical area
The project will take place across the whole of WPD’s four licence areas (West Midlands, East Midlands, South West and South Wales).
About V2G
V2G is fundamentally different in nature to smart charging because energy can be cycled, whereas smart charging is limited to the amount of energy consumed by the EV, i.e. around 7-10KWh for a typical 28 mile a day vehicle. A vehicle charged with V2G could cycle up to 84KWh of energy in and out of the vehicle in more complex patterns trying to react to signals from the market actors. The strategies for using these services could vary significantly but also coincide, leading to unexpected peaks that could be more difficult to forecast. With the export feature this could lead to high voltage events should a national call for more energy coincide with low local load.
Electric Nation has shown that time of use tariffs may shift the evening peak and create a new peak later in the evening, leading to a need for management. Also, this would make it difficult to separate the shift in demand due to tariff or the call for Distribution Systems Operator (DSO) service – the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project will test a more integrated approach.
Also, when looking at the proposed services these are fairly simplistic, and they mirror how National Grid calls for flexibility – at the ends of the network with low diversity this approach is not likely to provide a complete solution. The Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid project will look to test alternative approaches with the DSO taking control only when energy supplier trading encroaches safe limits for the network.
The business case for the project
As electric vehicle numbers increase (by 2030 it is estimated that around 25% of households will have a plug-in vehicle) it is anticipated that around 5,601 substations will be running at between 100-110% capacity by 2030 at a potential reinforcement cost of around £84 million.
To maintain safe network limits, it is expected that 20% of the EV chargers would be contracted by the DSO to provide V2G balancing. This would cost £3.8 million per year, instead of an £84 million one-off reinforcement investment.
Forecasting precise impacts presents a challenge with so many changing parameters (e.g. varying uptake of EVs, domestic batteries, heat pumps, solar PV). The CrowdCharge smart service has many potential advantages:
- It offers huge flexibility. Compared to traditional reinforcement, it can be activated at shorter notice – and can be targeted very precisely. The number of chargers under control can be increased (or reduced) depending on how demand patterns evolve for each part of the network
- It will help to defer (or in some cases avoid entirely) significant amounts of reinforcement
- The solution can respond to new technology, for example can equally be applied via the same platform to utilise static domestic batteries, should they offer equivalent capacity by 2030
- The platform data will provide a broader insight to network activity, informing other network activities (for example it may support voltage monitoring)
- The £84 million estimate for traditional reinforcement assumes a planned replacement, however due to the highly distributed and unpredictable nature of EV growth (alongside equally unpredictable LCT uptake) it may require a significant percentage of emergency reinforcement as limits are breached earlier than forecasted, and therefore costs could rise significantly. In addition, emergency repairs cause greater customer impacts.
Learn more abour V2G project
What is the duration of the project?
The project started in January 2020 and will conclude in July 2022, with a one year customer trial period starting in March 2021 until March 2022.
Recruitment starts June 2020, and charger installations will start from Autumn 2020.
Who is this aimed at?
Simple if you…
- Drive a Nissan EV with a battery capacity of 30kWh or more
- Live in the Midlands, South West or South Wales
then you could be eligible to trial a domestic Vehicle to Grid (V2G) smart EV charger worth £5,500.
By plugging in at specified times and putting energy back into the grid you could be rewarded, and the charger can be kept at the end of the trial for just £250.
Lear more or enrol at Electric Nation V2G site:
Ovo make it easier to join the Plug In set with Outlander PHEV
OVO make it easier to join the Plug In set with Outlander PHEV
Mitsubishi revise Outlander PHEV range
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV range has been extensively revised with a new six-variant line up comprised of Verve, Design, Dynamic, Dynamic Safety, Exceed and Exceed Safety trim levels replacing the previous confusing range on 3, 4 Juro, H and HS.
All new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV models feature revised seating with electronic lumbar support as standard on all models and re-contoured rear seats for more comfort and support. The dashboard has also been revised to accommodate new climate controls and a larger infotainment systems.
The new, entry-level Verve trim offers many luxury features including DAB radio, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, keyless operation, rear parking sensors, a rear spoiler, cruise control, electric folding door mirrors, LED DRLs, headlamps washers, automatic headlamps, rains sensing wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror and a programmable climate control system which can warm or cool the car in advance of a journey. Prices for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Verve start at £35,455 OTR.
The new Design trim, priced from £36,455 OTR, adds 18-inch alloy wheels, Mitsubishi’s new eight-inch Smartphone Line Display Audio (SDA) system with smartphone integration (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a more intuitive interface than the outgoing version and integrated reversing camera display.
The Dynamic, priced from £38,555 OTR, adds leather upholstery with an eight-way adjustable electric driver’s seat, black headlining, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert, while the top Exceed variant, priced from £40,955 OTR, adds integrated TomTom satellite navigation, diamond quilted leather upholstery, LED headlights with LED high beam, LED front fog lights, 360-degree camera, heated steering wheel, power tailgate and twin rear USB sockets.
The Dynamic Safety (£41,055 0TR) and Exceed Safety (£43,455 OTR) add Forward Collision Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Ultrasonic Misacceleration mitigation System, automatic high-beam and front and rear parking sensors to their respective specifications.
With close to 50,000 registered in the UK since 2014, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV remains the UK’s most popular plug-in vehicle with a real-world EV range of 28 miles, emissions of 46g/km and an official fuel economy figure of 139.7 mpg (WLTP).
This are strong sales and some what surprising as the tax benefit of the Outlander has been clobbered by our Government and criticised by Mitsubishi as being incomprehensible.
For example The Outlander PHEV (at least those optioned to more than £40,000 before incentives) is taxed like the Range Rover SDV8, a vehicle which has five times higher CO2 emission.
After Plug-In Car grant was lowered from £5,000 to £4,500 (BEVs) and £2,500 (PHEV with prce tag below £60,000), the new VED taxes deteriorate the environment for plug-in hybrid vehicle adoption.
From April 1, 2017 only BEVs (and other zero emission cars) keep the current tax relief at £0.
The plug-in hybrids (emissions: 1-50 g/km of CO2) are counted at £130 annual, but if their price exceeds £40,000 there is £310 annual supplement for five years from the second year of registration.
“The Mitsubishi had a VED rate of £10 in the first year of ownership, compared with the Range Rover’s £1200. However, for the ensuing five years, both vehicles will attract a £310 supplement on top of their VED rates because they cost more than £40,000.
An Outlander PHEV owner will pay £130 in VED, plus the £310 supplement, making £440 per year. The Range Rover will attract £140 in VED, making £450 when the £310 supplement is added.”
A recent survey of Outlander PHEV customers reveals that half their average weekly mileage is driven in electric mode, with 68% charging at least once per day and 90% charging several times (2-3 times or more) per week. 83% would recommend an Outlander PHEV to family and friends and 25% say they are considering a pure electric vehicle for the next vehicle, making it a true gateway vehicle towards an all-EV future and an important step on the road to zero carbon.
Are we at peak ICE?
Fewer and fewer ICE-powered cars will be sold in the coming years.
After speaking to specialists from the auto industry, The Financial Times published a comprehensive report about the fossil-burning engine. Interestingly, several experts told the publication sales of ICE-powered vehicles peaked in 2018 which basically means it’s unlikely that more cars with ICEs will be sold within a year in the future.
Most of the large automotive manufacturers are already adopting electrification as a way to improve the efficiency of their cars. Still, the internal combustion engine will continue to play a major role in the industry within the next at least two decades but, looking at what experts say, it’s probably safe to assume the ICE’s peak is now a thing of the past.
“We will probably see the peak of combustion engine car sales in 2018 based on global sales through October, plus estimates for November and December,”
Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst for Jato Dynamics, told Financial Times.
As of January 2018, predictions were that the demand for ICE-powered cars will continue to grow until its peak in 2022. It turns out that the major drop in overall new car deliveries in the three largest regions in terms of sales, Europe, the U.S., and China, might have significantly changed the forecast.
UK Car sales fall 7% Y on Y
We know from the SMMT that UK new car sales are dismal for 2018 and follow a grim 2017. The SMMT said new and more rigorous emissions testing rules created supply problems and a backlog of deliveries as car manufacturers suffered delays in getting their cars approved.
From 1 September 2018, all cars sold in the EU are subject to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), measuring all regulated emissions, as well as CO2 and fuel economy. These test are both more rigorous and should give real world data and need to be conducted for every model variant rather than a single example as previous test required. If you are BMW and need to test the new BMW 3 series you need to test every model with every engine configuration. So thats the Saloon in SE, Sport and M Sport with Plug In coming in July with a range of Petrol and Diesel engines. Grim work.
Last year, 2018 saw total UK sales of 2.37 million units a fall of 6.8%. The largest decline was in the diesel sector that fell 30% for the year. Anti-diesel rhetoric and negative fiscal measures took their toll, with December marking the 21st consecutive month of decline for the fuel type – despite new emissions tests showing diesels deliver in the real world. Growth in registrations of petrol (+8.7%) and alternatively fuelled vehicles (+20.9%) replaced some of the loss but not enough to offset the full shortfall as many diesel owners adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach, keeping hold of their older, more polluting vehicles for longer.
In the AFV sector, petrol electric hybrids remained the most popular choice, up +21.3% to 81,156 units. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) also recorded a strong uplift (+24.9%) over the year, though the figures suggest growth is slowing following the removal of the Government’s plug-in car grant for these vehicles in October.
Demand for PHEVs grew almost 30% in the first 10 months, but year on year increases fell to 3.1% and 8.7% in November and December respectively.
Pure electric cars, meanwhile, grew 13.8% in the year but, with just 15,474 registered, they still make up only 0.7% of the market. Given the reduction in government incentives, the pace of growth of plug-in cars is now falling significantly behind the EU average.
“When you look at 2018 since the summer, new car sales in all of the important markets are going down. Selling combustion engine cars to customers – this will not grow in the future,”
Axel Schmidt, global automotive lead for Accenture.
In 2019, global vehicle sales aren’t expected to decline as electric vehicles are expected to quadruple their market share to about 1.6 percent. Even if overall sales increase through the next 12 months, deliveries of ICE-powered vehicles will likely fall, say specialists.
GM hurting
The impact of falling unit sales can been seen in the response from the largest global players such as GM who recently announced it’s shuttering five production facilities and killing six vehicle platforms by the end of 2019 as it reallocates resources towards self-driving technologies and electric vehicles.
The announcements should come as a surprise to no one, as they echo a similar announcement made by Ford earlier this year that it will exit all car production other than Mustang within two years. EXIT ALL CARS – FORD!
Why the sudden attitude adjustment toward cars? Well, both firms cite a focus on trucks, SUVs, and crossovers.
North American car production hit 17.5 million vehicles in 2016 and dropped marginally to 17.2 million in 2017. Interesting, but perhaps not significant.
More telling are changes in driver behaviour. In North America, for example, fewer teens are getting driver’s licences. In 1983, 92 per cent of teens were licensed, while by 2014, that number had dropped to 77 per cent. In Germany, the number of new licences issued to drivers aged 17 to 25 has dropped by 300,000 over the last 10 years.
Fewer ICE cars on the road within a decade
We are moving from a do-it-yourself (DIY) transportation economy to a sharing, or do-it-for-me (DIFM), economy. Many of us won’t like it — I honestly like to drive — but the numbers and the technology are there.
As safety technologies improve and societal paradigms shift, this evolution will gather momentum. Based on the young driver statistics above, it seems reasonable to anticipate a reduction in cars per capita of 20 to 30 per cent in the next decade.
Unions at GM and Ford are justifiably unhappy, but they shouldn’t be surprised. It is quite possible that we have reached peak car in North America and Europe.
Companies that want to succeed in this new environment will need to be different and better in some way. If car volumes drop by 30 per cent over the next 10 years, there’d better be something special about the car company that hopes to survive, let alone prosper — like better technology, better comfort, or better service.
If current trends continue, we can anticipate more shutdown announcements — like GM’s — from car companies and parts suppliers, as there won’t be room for all of them.
EV bus outlook seems rosy
New Bloomberg report on the use and deployment of Electric Buses makes interesting reading.
Produced by the @BloombergNEF and partners @c40cities the report paints a positive picture on the rapid adoption of electric buses especially in China.
See the full report
Electric Buses in Cities– Driving Towards Cleaner Air and Lower CO2 at Bloomberg New Energy
Worth a read and lots of graphics to help paint the picture.
Few key points and charts below.
Air quality is a growing concern in many urban environments and has direct health impacts for residents. Tailpipe emissions from internal combustion engines are one of the major sources of harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and particulates. Diesel engines in particular have very high nitrogen oxide emissions and yet these make up the majority of the global bus fleet. As the world’s urban population continues to grow, identifying sustainable, cost effective transport options is becoming more critical. Electric vehicles – including electric buses – are one of the most promising ways of reducing harmful emissions and improving overall air quality in cities.
The global e-bus market is changing quickly as cities make increasingly ambitious fleet electrification commitments. In October 2017, 13 cities signed the C40 Fossil- Fuel-Free Streets Declaration, pledging to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 onwards.
The cumulative number of e-buses in Europe reached just over 2,100 units in 2017. Pure electric buses made up the majority of the total at 1,560 units. The U.K. has the largest e-bus fleet in Europe in absolute terms, but the share of e-buses in the total municipal bus fleet in the country was still below 1% in 2017.
E-bus charging configurations
There are three main types of infrastructure for charging electric buses: plug-in systems, inductive charging and conductive pantograph (overhead) charging (Table 3). Traditional plug-in charging is the most common and the cheapest charging system in use with e-buses today. It offers a range of charging rates, from slow to rapid and it is provided by a range of companies, including Heliox, APT, Siemens and ABB.
E-bus lithium-ion battery market review
The demand for lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles – both e-buses and passenger EVs – is increasing. However, battery manufacturing capacity is increasing much faster than demand, which puts pressure on battery prices. As a result battery prices have fallen by 79% since 2010. The sensitivity of battery cycle and calendar life, and the challenges around predicting future battery life make warranties critical to e-buses. Since e-buses have only come to prominence in the last five years the true performance of their batteries may not yet be fully understood.
Watch Economist Electric Car Film – 2018 Tipping Point Year
One of our favorite journals, The Economist has an interesting and informative new video up: “Electric cars will come of age in 2018.” The Economist supports that view that the global tipping point for electric cars may well be 2018 based on information regular readers know well, but it’s great to see such communication in the mass media.
One key point is that the more affordable total cost of ownership is shifting from gasoline cars to more sublime electric cars. The head-to-head comparison shows the total cost of ownership of an EV to be cheaper in 2018, based on estimates from The Economist.
Additionally, we no longer see EVs as the funny or odd contraptions that turned off many people in the 1980s and 1990s. Tesla’s supreme appeal thanks to the performance and high tech of its cars have led the way into a new era, and its modernistic minimalism keeps attracting new buyers. Electric cars are truly cool in 2017 — hip as the miniskirt once was.
The Economist does, of course, bring up environmental concerns that routinely come up about electric transport — it can be powered by coal. However, it’s important to recognize that even driving electric on the dirtiest grid is cleaner than driving an average car. Most of us who drive electric for the environment do use solar-powered charging spots when we can. And in the midst of a grid shift to renewable energy, the overall electricity mix we drive on will get cleaner and cleaner. More and more charging infrastructure will rely on solar and wind.
The Economist suggests that there is a global shift of power in the works. Oil is going to become much less important. Instability across oil nations is going to increase as a result, however.
Electric car batteries are coming swiftly into focus. The batteries often rely on the mineral cobalt. Two-thirds of the world’s cobalt comes from one country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Economist continues that demand for cobalt has doubled over the past 5 years. It will triple by 2020. The Democratic Republic of Congo does not bring to mind safe politics and does bring to mind a certain amount of corruption and environmental degradation. Cobalt mining there is probably something many of us would emotionally prefer to not learn more about. Heartbreaking issues are in the underbelly of all too many consumer goods.
With the Tesla truck announcement comming this week the EV world will ratch up another notch.
No more petrol or diesel cars after 2040
The UK Government has announced a ban on all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040.
Yes our team from theDepartment for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and the Department for Transport have jointly announced that from 2040 the UK will end the sale of all new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans. This is another component of the plan to tackle air pollution due to the environmental risk from rising levels of nitrogen dioxide.
This is one part of the programme to deliver clean air – next year the Government will publish a comprehensive Clean Air Strategy which will address other sources of air pollution.
Air quality in the UK has been improving significantly in recent decades, with reductions in emissions of all of the key pollutants, and NO2 levels down by half in the last 15 years.
Despite this, an analysis of over 1,800 of Britain’s major roads show that a small number of these – 81 or 4% – are due to breach legal pollution limits for NO2, with 33 of these outside of London.
To accelerate action local areas will be asked to produce initial plans within eight months and final plans by the end of next year.
The Government will help towns and cities by providing £255 million to implement their plans, in addition to the £2.7 billion we are already investing.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:
We are taking bold action and want nearly every car and van on UK roads to be zero emission by 2050 which is why we’ve committed to investing more than £600m in the development, manufacture and use of ultra-low emission vehicles by 2020.
Read the full report at Gov.uk site.
London blows past 2016 EU Pollution Limits in first 7 days of year
London needed only seven days to exceed EC pollution limits for all of 2016. By the end of the week, levels of NO2 (Nitrogen dioxide) had already exceeded the limit of 200 milligrams per cubic meter more than 18 times in Putney High Street since, as much as EU regulations will allow for an entire 12 months. Damning a whole city for a single site’s breach might seem extreme, but the pollution spike was most likely repeated elsewhere, too.
Oxford Street, London’s main shopping street, is notorious for having the highest recorded levels of NO2 anywhere in the world. It has probably exceeded its annual limit already as well—in 2015 this took just four days—but measuring equipment has malfunctioned, so this year at least it’s been spared a headline. In fact, 181 square miles of Greater London currently exceeds yearly NO2 limits according to a Policy Exchange new report, leaving London at an NO2 pollution level similar to that of Beijing or Shanghai. These huge overages might come as a shock for a city that has shown some leadership in pioneering congestion charging, adopting bikeshare fairly early, and in fact adopting strict air quality controls as early as the 1950s. What on earth is going on?
The recent Policy Exchange report has answers—some predictable, some unexpected. First off, it’s fair to note that London has made headway in cutting some emissions. The city’s particulate matter pollution has dropped below EU safe levels, and sulfur dioxide levels have plummeted. With NO2, however, there’s been little or no progress. Culprit No. 1 is the huge uptick in the number of diesel-fuelled vehicles on UK roads. As the report notes, in 1994 they made up just seven percent of the entire UK fleet. Today, they represent 36 percent of that fleet. See chart below.
Breakdown of NOx Emissions in Greater London in 2010, by Source
Ironically, environmental concerns have in part caused this spike. Included in a lower car-tax band, diesel vehicles have been favored by the UK government due to their lower CO2 emissions and greater fuel efficiency. This favoritism unfortunately overlooked their considerably higher NO2 and PM emissions. Diesel cars have also lagged behind gas-run cars in emission improvements and, the report states, performed worse on the roads than they have in tests:
Breakdown of PM Emissions in Central London in 2010, by Source
The tests are currently performed in laboratory conditions, and it has been argued that they do not adequately represent real world driving conditions—particularly urban driving conditions. The test cycle is “unrealistic and undemanding”, with cars able to accelerate slowly under relatively low engine loads, and therefore fails to represent real-world driving. Ask VW for clarification.
The pollution such vehicles create can be clearly linked to London’s high NO2 levels, 45 percent of which come from vehicles. Gas combustion (separated into domestic and non-domestic categories), non-road mobile machinery, industry, rail, and aviation also play a role, but none of these sectors’ pollution portions exceed 13 percent of the total. If London is going to clean up its air, it’s going to have to push for a root-and-branch low-emissions overhaul of its vehicle fleet.
London has a plan to do just that, at least in its most polluted sections, and albeit quite far into the future. In September 2020, London’s congestion-charge zone will also become an Ultra Low Emissions Zone where high-emissions vehicles will have to pay a charge to enter. The scheme is expected to cut central London’s NOx (the combined term for the pollutants nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) and PM levels by half. If London’s current pollution problem seems bleak, its pall should lighten considerably in the future.
Within this proposed zone, however, the pollution picture is a little more complex than in the city as a whole. At 48 percent of the total, NO2 emissions from vehicles here are even higher than elsewhere, but there’s also another major player in the pollution problem: Non-domestic gas combustion now contributes a hardly inconsiderable 33 percent of Central London’s NO2 emissions.
This is a pollution source that is only likely to grow—Policy Exchange estimates that it will create 48 percent of Central London’s NOx pollution by 2025. This is because the frequency of localized gas burning is likely to grow. Currently the UK is promoting decentralized power generation, including combined heat and power plants, as a more efficient way of delivery energy. This is essentially a good thing, but when it comes to emissions it seems that not all forms of decentralized generation are equal. The Greater London Authority’s rules, for example, still allow emissions of up to 300mg per kilowatt hour for gas CHP turbines, a considerably higher level than those typical of current heat only condensing boilers.
If gas CHP is rolled out across London in the future without stricter controls on their emissions, they could gobble up much of the reduction gained from better vehicle emission control. If there’s something to be learned from the UK’s past promotion of diesel, it’s that if you don’t look at all sides of a potential environmental improvement, you risk shooting yourself in the foot.
VW European owners no compensation offered
It seem that the VW Group will not offer compensation to European customers who bought a diesel car with “cheat” software, taking a different tack from in the U.S. where the automaker will provide a goodwill package worth $1,000 to affected owners.
California pushes EV while Whitehall does nought
National Plug in day was a large event in some part of the world – especially the US.
It was pretty much ignored in th UK. While in California Governor Jerry Brown marked National Plug-In Day by signing six bills to promote electric cars.
The new laws created by these bills will enact or extend a variety of programs that promote the use of electric cars and alternative-fuel vehicles.
Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8) will provide $2 billion in funding for several green initiatives.
Those include the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, a “Cash For Clunkers”-style program that incentives scrapping the dirtiest cars, and $20 million in funding for 100 hydrogen fueling stations.
Senate Bill 359 (SB 359) will fund four programs that encourage the purchase of cleaner vehicles.
That bill includes: $20 million for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, $10 million for the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, $10 million for the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Air Quality Loan Program, and $8 million for the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program.
Two bills will extend High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane access for low-emission and zero-emission vehicles until 2019.
Bills AB 266 and SB 286 extend the white HOV lane sticker program for battery electric cars and the green sticker program for plug-in hybrids, respectively.
Also helping to make plug-in drivers’ lives easier is SB 454, which establishes the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act.
The Act calls for the creation of an open system for electric car charging payments, where drivers could simply drive up to a charging station and pay with a credit card–regardless of which charging station company they have an account with.
The final bill was also related to electric-car charging.
AB 1092 requires the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop standards for charging infrastructure in multi-family housing and non-residential developments.
Taken together, the package of legislation keeps California among the front-runners in states working to promote electric cars and zero-emission vehicles. Come on UK we need these type of incentives to kick-start our EV industry.