Government advisory body says electric vehicle revolution can be a boon to the UK’s energy system
23rd January 2020 | Commercial Energy
A Government-backed taskforce bringing together key players in the energy, infrastructure and transport sectors says it has demonstrated that an effectively managed integration of electric vehicles with the energy system can significantly improve electricity network efficiency, increase system resilience and limit the requirement to build costly new infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand.
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Energy Taskforce was established in 2018 to make proposals to Government and industry to bring together the auto and energy sectors to ensure that the GB energy system is able to accelerate the mass take-up of electric vehicles while also delivering benefits to the electricity system.
Energy system
The infrastructure spending required to prepare the UK electricity networks for the electric vehicle transition is likely to run to tens of £billions. However, the Taskforce believes this cost can be significantly reduced if the right decisions are made and the transition is effectively coordinated between government and key energy, infrastructure and transport industry stakeholders. A prior study put this figure at between £2.7bn and £6.5bn.
There are twenty-one key proposals for actions to be taken by government and industry to enable an effective and efficient electric mobility transition. The proposals are included in a report which is being launched at an event this afternoon in central London.
The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, an unprecedented collaboration (established jointly by energy and transport ministers at the Prime Minister’s Zero Emission Vehicle Summit, in September 2018) is made up of more than 350 organisations including many household names.
The Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce is believed to be the most wide-ranging collaboration between the UK’s energy and transport/ mobility industries. The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership was asked to convene and facilitate the work of the Taskforce. The Taskforce states that “the transition to electric motoring is now well under way”, but that the pace must increase. Road transport accounts for 28% of the UK’s total energy consumption and 25% of carbon emissions.
More information available on the website below