Electric vehicle drivers paid to charge their cars using wind power
16th December 2019 | Commercial Energy
Drivers of electric vehicles will increasingly be able, not only to charge their card for free, but will be paid for doing so because of the UK’s increasing reliance on wind power, according to Ohme, a pioneering electric vehicle charging manufacturer. Windy weather conditions meant that the UK’s windfarms generated a record 16GW or 45% of the UK’s electricity on Sunday 8 December, at times this was more renewable electricity than the electricity grid needed.
This meant that for the first time, drivers who have an Ohme charger and are sign up to supplier Octopus Energy’s Agile time-of-use tariff were actually paid to charge their vehicles. Ohme’s app alerted their customers to the opportunity in advance to encourage them to plug in. This also helped to balance the load on the electricity systems.
Electric vehicles
This news comes on top of Ohme’s proven ability, when combined with a time-of-use energy tariff, to deliver savings of up to 75% of fuel costs to EV drivers versus a petrol or diesel vehicle. In comparison to charging with a standard variable tariff, Ohme can save drivers £250-£400 per annum. Consumers who benefited from the surge in wind power were informed that they would receive up to 5.6p for every kilowatt-hour of electricity used which equates to 1.8p per mile. A Nissan Leaf driver charging the batter from empty to achieve its maximum range of 168 miles would have been paid up to £3.02. The owner of a Jaguar i-Pace would have received £5.35 to charge their battery to max.
Commenting on the news, David Watson, CEO of Ohme said, “This is a landmark moment. For the first time, drivers using our smart technology on Octopus Energy’s Agile tariff have been paid to charge their vehicles – something that will happen with increasing regularity as the UK becomes more dependent on wind power. The windy weather has clearly demonstrated the value of our smart chargers as we not only help electric vehicle drivers get cash for filling up with 100% renewable energy but also ease pressure on the electricity system.”
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