EV charging first for the UK
22nd May 2018 | Commercial Energy
Plans were unveiled today to build a world-first 2GW network of grid-scale batteries and rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the UK.
Pivot Power is behind the £1.6bn programme, which will provide infrastructure to support the rapid adoption of EVs and underpin clean air policies, while introducing valuable flexibility into the energy system to accommodate the demands of mass EV charging and higher levels of intermittent renewable generation.
Pivot Power plans to develop 45 sites around the country, installing grid-scale 50MW batteries at electricity sub-stations connected directly to the extra-high-voltage transmission system. These will give the electricity system operator National Grid a huge resource in managing supply and demand.
EV
The battery network will be the world’s biggest, storing enough electricity to supply 235,000 average homes for a day. It will have the ability to release or absorb two thirds the power of the planned Hinkley C nuclear power plant in response to grid balancing requirements.
Sites have been chosen near towns and major roads where they can also power rapid EV charging stations. These will be fed directly by the transmission system, and so will be able to offer mass charging at competitive rates, supporting up to 110 rapid 150KW chargers. They will also be able to support rapid 350KW chargers when they are available in the UK.
It will also be the world’s largest network of rapid charging stations, addressing the three biggest barriers to EV adoption identified by the Department for Transport: availability of chargers, distance travelled on a charge, and cost. By offering affordable charging it will also lower the costs of car ownership for the next generation, the third biggest barrier.
Pivot Power is a privately-owned UK company, set up to develop and operate grid-scale batteries and EV charging stations connected directly to the National Grid high-voltage transmission system. Its dual mission is to support an energy system that is clean, affordable and secure by providing valuable flexibility, and to accelerate the EV revolution by creating a nationwide network of rapid charging stations offering low-cost, rapid, mass charging.
More information available on the website below
http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2018/05/ev-charging-first-for-the-uk.html