From next year, new homes and buildings will be required by law to install electric vehicle charging points. Here are my 10 thoughts, comments and questions in response to the news that all new homes and buildings in England will have an EV charger from next year:

1. Before it became clear earlier this year that these new rules would come into effect, we forecast that ~315k new home chargepoints (wallboxes) would be installed in the UK during 2022.

2. The UK government has said that they expect up to 145k additional chargepoints to be installed (in England) as a result of this legislation. Let’s assume that 120k of these are in homes.

3. If all of these ‘extra’ chargers are installed as soon as next year, this will increase the UK home chargepoint market by 38% versus the ‘no new legislation’ scenario.

4. In reality, these 120k additional chargers are unlikely to ‘kick in’ during next year. It typically takes 2 years – and often longer – to go from receiving planning permission to a completed building. So, permits granted in 2022 will not normally result in new homes until 2024 or later. (My understanding is that for buildings with existing planning permission, this new chargepoint legislation will not be retrospectively applied – but please comment below if you know differently!)

5. This legislation will result in a large number of home chargepoints being installed where there are no EVs – at least to begin with. Currently, only ~2.5% of UK households have 1 or more EVs. When this legislation takes effect, the large majority of wallboxes will not be in use. Is this really an efficient deployment of infrastructure?

6. With the ongoing semi-conductor shortage, and growing lead times for wallboxes (& countless other products), this will put extra pressure on UK supply chains. Will we have a situation where there are lots of idle wallboxes in new builds while EV owners can’t get hold of the products they need?

7. Housing developers are renowned for pursuing cheapest possible compliance – and who could blame them? Can we be sure that the wallboxes that are installed in new build developments are going to be ‘fit for purpose’ in 3/5/7 years’ time when they might finally be required?

8. Large housing developers – e.g. Barratt, Taylor Wimpey – will presumably be placing large orders. Will this result in lucrative contracts for the successful wallbox suppliers or a major distraction and a ‘race to the bottom’ on prices?

9. In the years ahead, the home wallbox market will continue to grow and grow, and the legislation will gradually reduce in impact. But by 2025, it may still account for an additional 20% of wallboxes being installed.

10. Will we see other European countries introduce similar legislation? You can be sure that policy makers across the continent will be closely monitoring the impacts…

If you would like to discuss the announcement further, or are interested in EV charging research, get in touch.

E-mobility and EVs. Smart charging and Vehicle-to-Grid. ACES*... I think it's fair to say that over the last 2-3 years, these terms have - to a greater or lesser extent - become a common part of everyday vocabulary if you are in any way interested in the future of the energy industry.   

And for good reason. At the end of 2013, there were around 123,000 plug-in electric vehicles on Europe's roads. Today, that number is more than 1.5 million, rising all the time, and they all need charging up occasionally**.   

Microgrids are coming.

This week,  Wärtsilä announced the acquisition of Greensmith Energy, the US-based system integrator and software company which specialises in developing grid-scale energy storage solutions. This move marks the latest milestone for Wärtsilä as they continue to diversify into hybrid power solutions (and microgrids), including the integration of solar PV and energy storage alongside their traditional engine-based power generation offerings. The acquisition is expected to be completed in July 2017.

In April last year, Wärtsilä announced that it would enter the solar energy business by offering utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions. The new solutions included solar PV power plants of 10 MWe and above, and hybrid power plants comprising solar PV installations and internal combustion engines. Both solutions are offered with full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capability. Wärtsilä has previously set a target of delivering 200 MWe of solar installations by 2018. It’s not clear whether this target will be revised following the acquisition. What is clear, however, is that Wärtsilä is serious about hybrids and moving outside their comfort zone of manufacturing and selling engines.

Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ (Energy Transition) is well publicised, and frequently referenced, as an example of how to (or not, depending on your point of view!) transform a country’s energy system away from low efficiency, high-carbon energy and towards an environmentally friendly, reliable energy system.

One of the fundamental pillars of the Energiewende is a support framework for renewable electricity generation. In the early 1990s, renewables accounted for less than 5% of yearly electricity generated in Germany. Today, the figure stands at around 35% - and the future direction of travel is clear.

Our research suggests that Mexico will become a ‘Global Top 10’ market for gas engines by 2020

Mexico’s energy reform is likely to herald increased activity in the field of distributed power. Since the Mexican government passed an historic energy bill in December 2013 - paving the way for deregulation of the electricity sector and bringing to an end state-owned CFE’s monopoly of the market - Delta-ee has witnessed growing evidence that Mexico is currently undergoing a period of sustained market growth, particularly in the field of stationary power gas engines.