Electric vehicle (EV) charging project, My Electric Avenue, has published the results from an 18 month trial which shows that some electricity networks in the UK will need upgrading to deal with the increased demand on the system placed on it by EVs.
Funded by Ofgem – the body that regulates electricity and gas markets in the country – My Electric Avenue has been working with specially created clusters of neighbours around the country to see what effect a larger number of EVs would have when being charged on a local electricity network.
The findings show that some networks will need upgrading to cope with electricity demand, which would normally require costly cable replacement. However the project has also been trialling a new piece of technology called Esprit that could avoid that work.
Esprit can control the charging of EVs if the local electricity grid reaches a certain capacity – the first time that technology has been implemented to prevent cables becoming overloaded.
My Electric Avenue has been working with specially created clusters of neighbours around the country who have all been driving Nissan LEAF electric cars for the last 18 months. This has been carried out to mimic a future scenario where many people in an area choose to use a pure EV or plug-in hybrid (PHEV).
Due to the diverse nature of the UK’s landscapes, the logistics behind the country’s electricity networks is just as wide-ranging, for example the lines, cables and wires in an urban area are different in make-up to those in a rural village or a residential suburb. The My Electric Avenue project has shown that electricity networks can typically cope with between 30 and 50 per cent of customers having EVs before additional investment is required.
Now in its third and final year, the project is now reporting its findings and working with energy companies and car manufacturers so that they can learn from the trial.
Dave Roberts, My Electric Avenue project director, said: “The UK is committed to encouraging the take-up of more plug-in cars. My Electric Avenue has shown that some local electricity networks will require investment if multiple electric vehicles are charging at the same time. Thankfully, the project has also shown that there is a technological solution to this problem, but we now need the car industry and the energy industry to work with each other to agree on ways to implement solutions in a timely manner.”
My Electric Avenue will be presenting all the results from the project in December.
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