National Audit Office says public chargepoint progress on course but challenges remain
Fri 13 December 2024
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A new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) says that the UK is on track to meet the Government's target to install 300,000 chargepoints by 2030 but says that there is a regional divide in provision and a need to ensure that chargepoints are in the right places.
As of July 2024, 64,632 electric vehicle chargepoints had been installed. The NAO says that the sharp increase in public chargepoints expected over the rest of the decade needs to include a greater focus on where they are located and how accessible they are. It says that the Department for Transport (DfT) and other government bodies involved must also be ready to meet the challenges and opportunities that come with this growth.
Up to now, 44% of public chargepoints in the UK have been installed in London and the South East, while there is limited provision in rural areas. It says that more public chargepoints are needed along the strategic road network: motorways and major A-roads.
The NAO says that planning rules must be changed to ensure that they help the rollout and not hinder it and that chargepoints must be easy to use for drivers, in particular ensuring that they are accessible for disabled people. It says that the chargepoint rollout is being hindered because it is "slower and more expensive than it needs to be for operators to get planning permissions and electricity grid connections".
Solutions to address costly and time-consuming barriers in planning and electricity network connections must be in place to meet the increased scale of installations needed. They must also monitor how people and chargepoint operators behave, to respond to emerging issues and intervene in areas that may disrupt the transition to electric vehicles.
Gareth Davies, Auditor General of the NAO, said: "Government’s estimate of the 300,000 public electric vehicle charge points needed by 2030 appears achievable, although there is more to do to ensure adequate coverage in all parts of the country.
"Government is using regulation to improve the user experience of public chargepoints and needs to address access for people with disabilities.”
Edmund King, AA president (and member of Zemo's Council for Net Zero Transport) said: "The AA believes it is vital that communities are not left behind, and the NAO is right to point out that Northern and rural areas are not seeing installations at the same rate as the South.
"Similarly, we must ensure that the major A-road network can provide regular charging points.
“To provide confidence to drivers now and in the future, it is crucial that all road users, including those with mobility issues, can use public chargers easily."
RELATED NEWS: A new survey from BloombergNEF reports that battery prices saw their biggest annual drop since 2017 in the latest year. Lithium-ion battery pack prices dropped 20% from 2023 to a record low of $115 per kilowatt-hour. Factors driving the decline include cell manufacturing overcapacity, economies of scale, low metal and component prices, adoption of lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, and a slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth. The report says that this figure represents a global average, with prices varying widely across different countries and application areas. BloombergNEF expects battery prices to continue falling as technologies develop and further scale economies are realised.
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